A Tail of Two Bijuu
by Synica
Summary: After being forced by her Biju to commit the horrific act of raising the dead, Yukiko flees the Hidden Village of the Snow for Konoha, only to find acceptance in the arms of a fellow Jinchuriki. NarutoxOC, Possibly others. Complete at last!
1. The Fugitive

Well, this is my first Naruto fanfic, slash that, first fic ever. I'm going to try and stay as close to the original character personalities as possible. Frankly, I'm sick of all the Naru/Hina garbage out there (although that used to be my favorite) and was dissappointed by the lack of Naru/OC content out there. Anyways, below is the legend and below that is what you're obviously looking for. Anyways, I'd appreciate it if you left reviews along with the choice in the votes. Basically, this is what I will and will not accept from reviewers:

Dos:

Leave constructive critisism.

Give helpful comments.

Pick me up on any spelling mistakes (as long as you aren't snide about it).

Dont's:

Flame.

Leave death threats.

Leave anything out and out negative.

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Legend:

_'...thoughts...'_

"...normal talk..."

"_**...Biju thoughts..."**_

"**...Biju Speaking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& **Scene Change

And now, on with the show!

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Chapter One:

The Fugitive.

It had gone on for 3 weeks. The fear, the crying, and the running. I had been chased out of my villiage by the villagers to screams of "witch" and "monster" amongst other things. I had barely escaped with my life. All I knew was that I had to get away. Far away as possible. I thought over my short, simple life I had lived. My name is Yakushi Yukiko. Up until just over 3 weeks ago, I had lived in the Village of Snow, learning from my parents' medical text books and scrolls that had been left to me and trying to get everyone to acknowlege that I even existed. I never knew why no one talked to me or looked at me, it just seemed like... like I was imagining I was even alive. The night of my 12th birthday, the reason I was ignored was revealed. Returning home after gathering some groceries with the meager amount of money I had to ration from my parents' inheritance, I placed the bags of food onto my small apartment's kitchen floor and began unpacking when I felt a sudden chilling pulse from my stomach. I grabbed my stomach, and clutched it from the odd feeling, but it soon faded, so I continued unpacking only to have that pulse of bone chilling energy return, only much much stronger. I dropped to one knee and gasped from the pain. The pulses continued to come one after the other as I bit my tongue to keep from screaming. After several minutes of these enegry pulses, I fell face first onto my kitchen floor, oblivious to the fact that my groceries were still unpacked.

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I regained conciousness to the steady sound of water falling. _Drip. Drip. Drip._ After a while I groggily opened my eyes and looked around to see that I was in some sort of delapidated maze of corridors that had the yellowish tint of age and decay. I felt like a dead weight, completely unable to move. As I was trying to go back to sleep to get out of this dream, I head a very strange noise. It sounded like a cat's hiss, although calling it a cat's hiss would be incorrect. That was unfortunately the closest thing I could identify it too. Upon hearing it, my eyes shot open and I looked around for the source of the noise, unabled to find the point of origin. Despite my body's condition, I slowly got up and leaned against a wall for support before going off trying to find the location of the strange noise. Just as I was about to collapse from exauhstion, I looked to my right down another tunnel only to find a strange pure white light. I turned down the side passage and walked into the light. As the light faded, I gasped in suprise. There infront of me was a gaint gate, held closed by a slip of paper with the Kanji for 'seal' on it. I just stood there for what felt like an eternity. Thoughts were going through my mind a mile a minute: '_what is this?' 'where is this?'_ and the like before a glowing pair of emerald green eyes, rimmed by gold with slits for pupils and a giant mouth full of pure white, dagger like teeth appared from inside the cage.

"**Welcome little human. I have been waiting for you."**

"Wha... Who are you?"

"**Why don't you come closer and find out, hmmm?"**

Without thinking, I slowly trudged to the gate before I felt a rush of air coming from inside the cage. Using what little energy I had left, I sprang back, just as a pair of gaint claws rushed through the gate, landing where I had been just seconds ago. Luckily, the claws were stopped due to the fact that they were too big to reach any father.

"**Damn this infernal cage which keeps me sealed. Do you have any idea what it's like to see the same 4 walls every day and every night for 12 years? How I long to be free causing havoc once again... Pity that will never happen again, will it?"**

"What are you talking about? You still haven't answered my question as to who you are!"

"**My my, ever the impatient one aren't we? Very well human, I will tell you who I am. I am Nibi, the two tailed demon cat, Queen of the Undead."**

"But I thought that Nibi was only a folktale told to scare children into doing what they were told..."

"**Oh, I assure you my little kitten, I am very real. Would you like further proof?"**

I dumbly nodded my head, not really knowing what to expect. A deep hissing laughter errupted from the cage as the face of Nibi bobbed up and down with a sneer on her face.

"**Very well. I will return you to the land of the living. When you wake up, focus some chakra, and look at your stomach. If that's not enough proof for you, go to the grave yard and think of me. I'm sure you'll believe me then."**

The room started to waver and warp, all the while a roaring laughter could be heard that slowly faded away until there was only silence. I then woke up, still on the kitchen floor surrounded by my shopping. Thinking that it was all a dream, I continued unpacking my shopping then went to continue my evening meditation session. Just to make sure that what had happened was nothing but a nightmare, I pulled off my shirt and focused a small amount of chakra to my navel, only to see a growing pattern of intricate black circles radiating out from my stomach. I immediately remembered what the cat had saidin my dream and I ran to the graveyard, hoping that it was all some cruel prank. I entered the graveyard, and ran to my parent's graves for comfort. Knowing what I had to do next, I calmed myself and thought of "Nibi". Before long, I heard a snikering laughter echoing deep in my mind.

"_**Miss me kitten?"**_

I lost it. I completely snapped. I let out an unearthly scream that echoed throught the village. What happened then, I only vaugly remembered, but I remember a green mass of goo like chakra rising out of my stomach and proceeding to cover my entire body. What began as a slow sting turned into a feeling of pure utter agony. Saying it hurt was an understatement. With each part of my body the chakra covered, I lost control of that body part. When the chakra covered my hands, my fingernails transformed into retractable claws. When it got up to my chest, I began a small wimper, which slowly rose in pitch before turning into a scream that could wake the dead. When it reached my neck, I leaned my head upwards, trying desperately to get away from it. As the goo covered my head, the scream quickly transformed into a demonic roar. My 'chakra armor' had taken on the appearance of a cat. I had a long chakra tail that twitched with excitement, and the chakra that was surrounding my ears formed the shape of a cat's ears. The chakra armor then seemed to almost absorb the moon's light, hiding my body inside an opaque form of a cat. Slowly, the chakra armor became transparent. My head slowly lowered, and once I opened my eyes, my normal violet eyes were now emerald green with gold rims and cat like pupils. My cainines had also elongated dramatically.I now was no longer in control of myself.

"_Wha... what's happening to me?"_

"_**I've taken the liberty of... showing you your heratige. Watch now very closely my little kitten, and I'll show you how I earnt my title of "Queen of the Undead".**_

My arms moved by themselves, flying through handseals at breakneck speed. By this time, I noticed that most of the village was awake and at the entrance to the graveyard. Most of them had makeshift weapons or torches of some sort. Some even had real weapons of varing descriptions. When they saw me they froze, unsure of what they should do.

"_**Oh the look on their faces is going to be priceless. Watch carefully, my little kitten. This is what you can really do when you put your mind to it."**_

Finishing the last of many hand seals, I turned to the villagers and stared at them. Although I was speaking, not only was it not my voice that came out of my mouth, but the voice that did come out chilled the villagers to the bone.

"**I call upon the, the souls of the damned. Rise my children! Rise and serve me once again! Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Taitou za Bachiatari!"**

For a moment nothing happened. But then, all over the grave yard, the ground started breaking apart infront of most of the gravestones, from which mangled bodies crawled, moaning and creaking. I turned towards the mob, who's faces showed such horror, disgust and rage. They started moving forward to try and destroy me for disrespecting their loved ones, but I simpily turned to them and held up a hand.

"**That's as far as you go, little humans."**

Once again, they stopped, unsure of what I had meant. I turned to face the army of reanimated corpses, before addressing my undead army.

"**As the first task for your master, I would like those pitiful mortals to be hunted for their crimes against me. Make sure none survive! Go, my children!"**

The zombies lurched forward, gaining speed and momentum. The villagers broke ranks and ran screaming for their lives.

"_**Now do you believe I am real, my little kitten?"**_ Nibi asked sadisticly.

"_How... HOW COULD YOU?" _My mind was backed into the last little corner of sanity. Just one more little tap and I'd be as good as gone.

"_**Now is not the best time to question 'how'. I suggest you take yourself and flee the village. Quite frankly, I was doing you a favor. I was absolutely fed up with those pitiful humans treating us like they did. Just remember. Everything you feel, I feel. Demons have feelings too you know."**_ Nibi let out a slight sigh, but I was far too worked up to notice it.

"_But... I have no where to go! My family died long ago, I have no relatives outside the village! Did you even think this through before you took control of my body?" _I screamed at the cat, demanding an explination.

"_**I did. I have been planning this for almost 12 years, kitten. Have you heard of the hidden village of the leaf in the fire country?" **_She asked in a calm manner.

"_Of course. Why?" _I was now not only scared out of my wits, but confused as well.

"_**That would probably be the best place to go right about now. I have a... friend... that I last saw around Konoha."**_ Nibi gave off the feeling of aprehension as she mentioned the word 'friend', which made me wary.

"_Last saw? When exactly did you last 'SEE' your friend when you've been in my body for 12 years?"_ This was making less and less sense with each passing second.

"_**At about the same time I was sealed inside you, I also felt the presence of my friend disappear from existance..."**_ Nibi paused for a moment before taking stock of the current situation.

"_**Hmmm, it seems the villagers have regrouped. I'm taking you in the direction of Konoha, although even my incredibe stamina reserves cannot make the whole trip in a single attempt while I'm stuck in this body. Once I run out of chakra, you'll be on your own. I HEAVILY suggest you don't look back. Ever. It will take roughly 3 weeks of travelling if we keep up a good pace. It's time we started a new life. Let's go, kitten."**_ and with that, they dissapeared over the walls of the village followed by all the surviving ninja of the hidden Village of Snow.

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A/N:

Well, there's chapter one done! As always, constructive criticisms are welcome. Now for a bit of history:

The question you're probably asking yourselves right now is: Why a demon cat with the ability to raise the dead? Well, I actually did some research into the Biju and their physical manifestations. The one tailed Biju, who's official name acording to mythology is Ichibi, or "One tailed". same goes all the way up to Kyubi, which we all know as the nine tails. I did as much research as I could to find out all the identities of each and every one of the 9 Bijus. There was precious little information on the identity of the 6 tailed Biju, and only slightly more on most of the others. Of course, the most well documented one is the Kyubi no Kitsune. The next most well documented one is the Ichibi no Tanuki, or "One tailed Raccoon-Dog" (raccon-dogs are apparently found only in Japan) So I went through the choices and found my hopes of finding a Biju that was even remotely feminine dwindling fast. I need a feminine Biju to fit in with what I had planned as the story line. The Sanbi, or "three tailed" was interesting. It's suggested that the Sanbi is a shark. Now who reminds you of a shark? Kisame! Anyways, I continued searching, whittling down the choices until I was left with one. The Nibi, or "two tailed" I did some research into it and became very intrested. According to myth, the Nibi was originally a one tailed cat that grew to 10 years of age, it's tail split into 2, and would gain the conflicting powers of necromancy and shamanism. What I found amusing was that the older, mistreated Nibi's would revive the people who mistreated them's dead relatives and haunt them until they got what they wanted. The last part of what I read caught my attention the most though. Here's the extract I was talking about: Lastly, some Japanese folk tails said that nekomata could shapeshift and become human in appearance; however, unlike the more common nekomusume, nekomata women tended to look older, display bad habits in public and always had an air of dread around them, which if around people for an extended period could cause disease and pestilence. I then looked up what a 'Nekomusume' was and found out that it was the ancient Japanese equivalent of a catgirl from anime! So basically I twisted it a bit and combined some of the traits of a Nekomata and a Nekomusume, since this is biju version after all. Anyways, enough rambling. One last thing before I go, if you were wondering about that summoning technique I used, the meaning is below.

Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Taitou za Bachiatari : Summoning Technique: Rise of the Damned

I am going to write the next chapter as soon as this is posted. I'll catch you all again next time!

Ja ne:)


	2. The Meeting of the Vessels

**A/N:** Yo! It's Specula here again. Anyways, as promised. Im' going to start the second chapter now.

I've decided on the first vote:

**(A):** Naruto and the rest of team 7 accept a mission to the Village of the Snow (as a replacement for the mission to the wave)

**(B):** Team 7 still take the mission to the Country of the Wave.

Depending on the results of this vote, I will decide on the contents of the next vote. Both will have equal consequences on the eventual outcome of the story, as once one mission is decided, I will NOT do the other one, unless I get hounded to do it, so chose wisely! Just so you know, very little will change if you chose to go with the mision to the Country of the Wave. I have something... Special... in mind for the mission to the Snow, however... :P

Legend:

_'...Thinking...'_

"...Talking..."

_**'...Biju Thinking...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Scene Change**

Without further ado, I give you Chapter II of A Tail of Two Bijus! Enjoy my readers! Remember! Don't forget to Review:D

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**The Meeting of the Vessels:**

Yukiko was just about to give up. 3 whole weeks of trudging through snow, across the sea, through a desert, and finally through a forest, and she STILL hadn't seen the damn village. And what was worse is that those ninja were still tailing her, hoping for revenge.

'_Nibi, please... how much longer? I can't take this any more..."_

_**'Patience kitten. I can sense the village very close. I also sense a someone ahead of you.'**_

_'Someone ahead of me? Oh no! Don't tell me they managed to flank me! I've worked too hard for this! Oh Kami-sama, why did you do this to me?'_

Unknown to Yukiko, that 'someone' ahead of her was the exact opposite of who she thought it was...

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**A few hundred meters away:**

Oblivious to the fact that Yukiko was approaching him, this person was going through a few extra training rituals that required him to be out in the forest this morning. This someone wore a bright, and rather strongly colored orange jumpsuit that looked like it had been worn specifically to put a gaint neon billboard over his head saying 'I'm here! Look at me! Look at me! I have a death wish!' This person, however appauling their fashion sense was, still thought it was a good choice of clothing. This boy decided to head back to the village when he heard a faint russle in the canopy above him, followed by a groan and a large and shadowy object falling direcdtly towards him. Naruto just had time to realise that this was a person, and tried to catch them. When he tried to catch this person, he grossly miscalculated their weight and went crashing into the ground while trying hi best to protect the person.

"Huh, are you alright?"

The only answer he got was a cringe of pain and a gasp, along with a whispered "help... me". Looking over the girl's body, Naruto realised she was hurt. Severely. Her clothing was ripped to shreds, and she was bleeding profusly. She had obviously lost a lot of blood, and judging by her almost complete lack of chakra, she wasn't going to last much longer, 20 minutes tops. He had to get her to the hospital NOW.

"Hang on! I'm taking you to the hospital!"

The girl opened her dull violet eyes and looked at her savior.

"Who... are you?"

The boy grinned and put on a smile for the girl.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Ninja in training. I'm from Konoha, and one day I'm going to become Hokage! Don't worry, I won't let you die on me, got it?"

"Thank... you."

With that she passed out. Naruto went wide eyed. No one had EVER said thank you to him before. Not even the old man Hokage. With renewed passion, he picked her up bridal style and raced back to the village.

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**Konoha's West Gate:**

As Naruto neared the western gate, the guard on duty woke fro his snooze at the sound of someone rushing at the gates. When he saw who it was, his eyes narrowed. He really hated Naruto, or 'Demon Boy' as he was well known in this village. He had lost his parents to that bastard. His eyes narrowed even further when he saw what he was carrying.

"Alright boy, stop there. What the hell do you think you're doing with an enemy ninja in your arms? If you think you can just waltz into this village with an enemy ninja, think again. Do you have any idea of the repucussions of this? This is going to start the next shinobi war you fool! Drop her there, and let me kill her."

The guard started movingtowards Naruto and his charge, but naruto stepped back into as much of a fighting stance as he could due to the fact that he still had the girl in his arms. The guard smirked.

"So you want to fight me huh, you bastard? Ok then, let's go!"

The guard was just about to launch himself at Naruto when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"ENOUGH!"

Both of them turned around to see none other than the Hokage himself standing at the gates.

"Akio! What on earth do you think you're doing? Can't you see that that girl is on the brink of death? How could you attack Naruto when his only intention is to save a human life?"

"My appologies, Hokage-sama! I wanted to stop him from starting another great shinobi war..."

"Is that your excuse for trying to extinguish a human life? That is truly unacceptable! I'm docking your pay by 25 for a month. Let this serve as a warning for next time you try something so selfish."

The guard looked down at the ground before letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage turned to look at Naruto and his charge. His face became very solem as he looked at the girl.

"Naruto, come with me quickly. She doesn't have much longer. How quickly do you think you can get her to the hospital?"

"In no time at all old man! Leave it to me!"

And with that, Naruto lept through the gates and onto the roof of the nearest building leading towards the hospital.

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**The Next Day:**

Yukiko found herself slowly becoming concious, and that she was comfortable. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear her vision and to adjust to the sunlight streaming in through the windows. She looked around her and found one blonde haired, blue eyed boy in an orange jump suit sitting by her bed staring off into the distance. The gears in her mind churned as she went over what had happened in the last 24 hours.

"Naruto?"

The boy in question jumped out of his seat and practically had a heart attack. Once he say that nothing was wrong, he calmed down and smiled at her.

"Yup the one and only!"

"I... Thank you again for saving me... I really appreciate it..."

"No problem! You look fine now. That's good."

Naruto took a good look over her now that she was in a much better state of health. Starting at the top of her head, he took in the vivid turquiose hair, and moved down to her eyes. He stopped on them and knew something was amiss. Although those violet eyes showed some warmth, they also held incredible sadness. He knew instantly her life had been tough. He moved further down her body and his eyes rested on her... suprisingly well developed chest. Half-baked dirty thoughts careened through his mind, and he was just lost there before he was pulled back to the world by the owner of that chest, who seemed very concerend.

"Naruto? Is something wrong?"

"Ah! No... nothing's wrong! Heh heh!"

With that he moved his eyes back up to her face. Yukiko saw the look he had on his face and immediately began to blush. Seeing her blush, Naruto realised that she knew he had been looking at her chest and his face immediately became very red. Just when they secretly hoped that something could releave the tension in the room, their prayers were answered in the form of the Hokage walking into the room. Since Naruto had his back to him, He didn't detect him until he spoke almost directly behind Naruto.

"Ah, it's good to see you up."

Naruto got his second near heart attack for the day and whipped around to confront the person.

"Ah! Old man, don't sneak up on me like that! You scared me!"

"Ha ha ha ha, Naruto, you have to be ready for any attack at any time. Remember that well." with that he ruffled Naruto's hair and smiled before turning back to the patient.

"As I was saying, it's good to see you up miss..."

"Yukiko. Yakushi Yukiko."

The Hokage's brow furrowed. Yakushi... He'd heard of that name somewhere before. Without giving it much more thought, he turned back to the matter at hand.

"A pleasure to meet you miss Yakushi. As you've prbably guessed, I'm very concerned as to what a ninja from the hidden village of snow is doing here so far from home. Would you be able to fill me in?"

"Hai Hokage-Sama"

The Hokage turned to Naruto who was standing there eagerly, wanting to find out this girl's story.

"Naruto, I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside while I talk to this young lady. You can come back in after we're finished ok?"

Naruto looked crestfallen, but he mumbled something and complied, walking out the door and closing it behind him. With that taken care of, the Hokage could once again turn to the problem at hand.

"So miss Yakushi, why are you here? You do realise that this could start the next hidden war between the snow and the leaf right?"

"Hai."

"Then please explain yourself"

Yukiko begain to recount her tale including everything from her villige's treatment of her up to raising the undead army that had been forced by her demon to attack and slaughter most of the villagers. The Hokage listened through all of this with a grave face. Yukiko knew she didn't stand a chance in hades of staying in Konoha, and she would be sent right back to her death. At the end she cried from the stress of it, and gasped when she felt the Hokage wrap his arms around her and give her a hug. No one had EVER hugged her before. She went stiff as a board until the Hokage released her. Looking into his face, Yukiko waited desperately for his verdict.

"Yukiko, raising the dead is a very grave offense. If it were not for the fact that Nibi had complete and total control of your body, I would have no choice but to send you back."

Yukiko looked at the Hokage in horror. He couldn't be serious about sending her back, could he? Would he really be that heartless?

"On the other hand, our village is already home to a boy just like you. He is also a Jinchuriki, a demon container. Our Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his life to seal the Kyubi no Kitsune within a child, and as his final request, he wished for that child to be viewed as a hero, a martyr, who would put up with the eternal torment that is caused by being a container for such a demon. However the result could not be further from what he wished for. People beat him sensless just for the way he was born. They have destroyed his home and all his possesions twice. To protect him from the current generation finding out about the truth, I was forced to quickly pass a law which forbade anyone talking about the Kyubi, especially to the child himself. I could not risk the corruption spreading to this child's generation, for I fear that would be the end of him. I'm surprised he's kept his sanity intact for as long as he has."

"Who is this boy, Hokage-Sama?"

Little did they both know that Naruto was on the other side of the door listening intently to their conversation. Tears were threatening to spill from his eyes as he was begging for what was coming next to be anything other than what he knew it was going to be.

"Why none other than the boy who brought you here. Uzumaki Naruto."

Just then, they heard a loud thump against the door followed by quick footsteps leading towards the front of the hospital. The Hokage did what no one had ever heard him do before. He swore.

"Shit! How could I have been so careless? I must appologise miss Yakushi, but I will have to cut this meeting short. I have to go after that boy before he does something I may never forgive myself for."

"It's alright, Hokage-Sama. Right now I think he needs someone who understands his pain. I'll go."

The Hokage looked at Yukiko with suprise.

"But you still haven't recovered fully yet..."

"All I need is one night of rest, and I'm fully recovered. I'm ready to leave now."

The Hokage put this phenomenal healing ability down to the Nibi. He sighed, and gave in.

"Very well Yukiko, please go after him. Please make sure he doesn't do anything foolish."

"Hai, Hokage-Sama"

With that, she got out of bed and saw her clothes were still in shreds. She looked around wildly for anything that she could use as a replacement. Seeing her predicament, the Hokage silently thanked himself for his forethought and pointed to a stack of new clothes on top of a desk against the wall.

"I went and picked up some new clothes for you yesterday. They're on top of that desk. I will leave so you may have some privacy."

"Arigato, Hokage-Sama"

With that, he nodded and left the room, closing the door behind himself with a soft click. Yukiko immediately changed and then rushed out of the hospital and began looking every which way for Naruto.

_**'He's headed towards the Hokage tower. You have to get there quickly. I have a bad feeling about this...'**_

_  
'you? Bad feeling? That's unlike you to say something like that'_

_**'Quiet, kitten. I only say something like that when I mean it. Now get going.'**_

Without the need for being told twice, Yukiko hopped onto the nearest roof and swiftly made her way to the Hokage tower.

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**A/N:** Phew! Another one bites the dust! I'm going to call it a night, as it's 2:35 in the morning. Once these are uploaded, I'm going straight to bed. See you all later!

Specula.


	3. A Rumble in the Jungle

**A/N:** Yo! Sorry I'm late, a black cat crossed my path just now and I was afraid to move until it had gotten off the path...

Yeah... Anyways, I'll get right into the third chapter. I still haven't recived any votes yet! Come on people! Making the story up myself is no fun and no challenge! I want you guys to feel as if you are shaping Naruto's and Yukiko's destiny! Now, I've got my first review, so I hope more are coming! Anyways, I hope that my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

**(A):** Team 7 to the Snow: 0

**(B):** Team 7 to the Wave: 0

The vote for their first big mission stands at nill all. Come on people! Votes, I say!

Now, on with the show!

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 3:

A Rumble in the Jungle:

Yukiko used her hightened senses gained from Nibi to track Naruto. When she was about halfway to her destination, her stomach gave a sudden lurch and a feeling of dread washed over her.

_'This is really not good. I've felt this feeling before... It was when you took over my body...'_

Yukiko felt the demon queen stiffen suddenly as the wave of chakra caused feelings washed over her.

_**'This... This Chakra! That's Kyubi's chakra! No wonder I sensed he had dissapeared when I was sealed! He was sealed too! Yukiko, get to him immedaitedly! I have to talk to Kyu-chan again...'**_

This shocked Yukiko greatly. A demon queen, calling a demon king Kyu-chan? She never let any signs of affection show, let alone call someone something so endearing as Kyu-chan!

_'Kyu...chan?'_

Nibi sighed as there was no use hiding it any more. She would have to tell her the truth. All of it. She took a deep breath and began.

_**'Millenia before both of us were sealed, we were friends. Possibly more than just friends. The other demon lords were jelous of our budding relationship, as I was known amongst the demons as 'Queen of Ice'. No one was able to melt my heart and I snubbed all the other demon lords. That was until I met Kyubi. He was such a mischivous guy, full of cunning and daring. I don't know what it was exactly that began attracting me to him, but I was no longer the Queen of Ice, because I had found a potential mate. The other demon lords were stunned, but soon, they began to become very envious of Kyubi and I. The other 7 tailed demon lords got together and plotted our demise. First, they decided to hold me hostage and demanded that Kyubi banish himself from the demon realm to the mortal world. Reluctantly, he aaditted defeat, and left his throne and a giant power vaccume in the demon realm. The other 7 tailed demons began a massive struggle for supremacy, of which I had no intrest in. I managed to sneak away and I then decided to banish myself to the mortal realm in hopes of finding my beloved. When I arrived, I immmiately felt the presence of Kyu-chan. I stopped and ran towards his location, only to be stopped as I ran through the Hidden Village of Snow. Their leader managed to stop me and rip my soul from my body, sealing it inside a crying little baby girl. That girl was you. Just as I was being prised from my body, I felt the same thing happening to Kyu-chan. So this is the first time I have been allowed to meet my mate in 12 years. Now you know. I want you to make me a promise.'**_

Shocked by this story, Yukiko dumbly agreed.

_**'You must promise me to protect that boy AT ALL COSTS. Kyu-chan has obviously neglected the fact that if his container dies, then so does he. You and I are going to train them to be able to protect themselves. I can't risk losing Kyu-chan again...'**_

Yukiko admitted that was a resonable request. After all, she finally found someone who could understand the torment of being a Jinchuriki. She accepted the vow, and swiftly made her way towards Naruto.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Hokage Tower:**

Once Yukiko arrived at her destination, she saw guards everywhere, all obviously beaten by something they had no chance of success against. She rushed to the nearest guard and inspected him, before using some of her medical jutsu's to ease his pain. Slowly, the Chunin opened his eyes and looked up at his saviour.

"What happened here?"

"That demon bastard, Naruto came charging in here and totally kicked our asses. He ran inside and took the first's sacred scroll of forbidden jutsus. This time he's gone too far. He has to be killed-"

Yukiko had heard enough. No one deserved to be talked about like that. She growled angrily and surrounded her hand with a stream of green chakra.

"Chakra Scalpel!"

With that she severed the tendons in his legs and arms, making him completely immobile. She listened with delight to his howls of pain.

"Next time you talk about Naruto-Kun like that, I may decide to use my chakra scalpel around your heart and lungs. Don't you EVER talk about Naruto-Kun like that again do you understand me? Think over your views of him while you're in pain and then you might begin to understand what it feels like to be in his position."

The Chunin looked at her in horror. This girl was protecting that... that demon bastard! He'd had enough, he tried to crawl back up and attack this girl, but quickly found that the girl had dissapeared from infront of him and had appeared behind him.

"**Wrong move, human."**

He stopped. He knew that voice anywhere. That was a demon's voice alright. He risked a look behind him and immediately regretted it. Standing before him was the girl, but she was different. VERY different. Her body was giving off an aura of decay. Her eyes were now green with gold rims and slits for pupils instead of the peaceful violet ones from before. He also noticed her nails had grown into claws and most shockingly of all her cainines were now quite long. He now knew he had forfieted his life. So he accepted defeat.

"**Awww, the little human accepts defeat? That's no fun at all! Well, I'll give you a swift death for realising the futility of defying the Queen of the Damned."**

All this time, Yukiko had been rapidly going through a set of handseals foreign to her, but she knew the result. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"**This is it! Goodbye! Your soul... is mine! (Crap! I stole another line from Shang Tsung...) Death Element: Soul Siphon********!"**

The Chunin looked on in horror as the demon girl raised her hand and an disturbingly evil purple stream of chakra emerged from her hand and struck him in the stomach. He immedaitely clutched his stomach as an excruciating pain racked his body and he felt like a core part of him was being ripped from his body. The last thing he saw was a ghostly outline of himself being taken out of his body and being absorbed into that demon girl. He saw that the end had come, and begrudgingly accepted defeat before embracing the end.

Now that her hunger had been saited, the Queen of the Damned turned back to the task at hand.

_**'Ah what a satisfying meal. Now, to go find my precious Kyu-chan. Let's go, kitten.'**_

Without a second thought, they moved off following the trail of demonic chakra into the surrounding woods.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The woods just outside Konoha:**

Naruto had stolen the scroll as per his sensei's instructions. He'd been waiting for over an hour, and he'd just about had it with waiting, so doing the first thing that came naturally to his mind, he opened the scroll and started reading.

_'Let's see... A Wood Element jutsu? Sounds boring... A Fire Element justu? Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Let's see... to successfully use Katon: Karyuu Endan no Jutsu you have to draw your chakra to your innermost coils and take a deep breath, and then unwind the chakra stored in your coils and focus it towards your mouth along with expelling the air at the same time... I don't get it... Oh well... Next one...'_

Naruto went through the scroll until he found one of particular intrest.

_'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu? I could really use this! Let's see... Kage Bunshin no Jutsu creates clones, however unlike regular Bunshins, these are actual flesh and blood Bunshins who have their own chakra circlitaory system. To successfully accomplish Kage Bunshin, you must split your chakra equally amoungst each of the clones, giving them form and shape. This is a special Jounin level technique that requires an abhorrent amount of chakra but allows the bunshin to confuse the enemy as they can actually take physical damange, fooling the opponent into thinking they have killed you only to find they have attacked a clone.'_

Naruto whistled. This was a powerful technique alright. And what shocked him more was that he actually understood it! Naruto snickered to himself and began to perform the jutsu for an hour until he had successfully mastered it. He sat down and leaned back against a tree regaining his breath when he heard a twig snap and was instantly back on guard. He looked in the direction it had come from and was just about to let loose a kunai when he felt a familiar chakra signature and he relaxed. Out of the bushes sprung Yukiko. She was obviously not too happy with Naruto's act, and she went and tackled him to the ground.

"Naruto-Kun, you BAKA!"

What happened next, he could never prepare himself for. She hugged him. His eyes flew wide in shock at the gentle physical contact and he instictively put his arms around Yukiko.

"Yukiko...chan?"

Yukiko opened her eyes and gasped. 'Yukiko-Chan'? No one had ever attached that endearing suffix to her name. She then looked down at Naruto and smiled. '_He's actually kind of cute with that facial expressio...'_

_'Oh? My little kitten is developing feelings for my mate's container?'_

_'No I'm not! I just thought that he was kind of cute with that facial expression. Nothing more.'_

_'Very well. On another note, I would recommend that since this is the perfect opportunity for it, that you study that scroll. There are some techniques in there that I'm sure we could both make use of.'_

Shaking her head, Yukiko turned back to Naruto and smiled. Naruto in turn smiled back and then started blushing profusely. Wondering what the problem was, she noticed her bust was pressing into his chest. She then rectified the situation by removing herself from him, breaking the moment and started blushing as well. They just stared at each other for a bit, simmilar thoughts going through each of their minds.

_She's really cute... Actually, beautiful might be a better word for it. Even more so than Sakura-Chan.'_

_'I never noticed how hansom he was. Those wisker marks make him really attractive...'_

Snapping out of her line of thought, she looked at the scroll on the ground.

"Is that the First's sacred scroll Naruto-Kun?"

"Yeah! I've already learnt a technique off it! You should try learning some things off it too! They're really powerful jutsus!"

Smiling, Yukiko went to the scroll and brought it up to her lap, looking up at Naruto for some sort of sign that she was allowed to read it. Recognising this look, Naruto just smiled and said "Go for it!"

Yukiko gave one of her biggest smiles and began browsing through the scroll.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Hokage Tower:**

Out the front of the Hokage Tower, a large mob of ninja had arrived, yelling things like 'demon kids' and the like.

"Hokage-Sama! This time he crossed the line! He stole the sacred scroll! Although the scroll itself is useless to him, if someone was to take it from him, we would be in serious trouble! Not only that, he's sucked someone else into his little scheme as well! Give us the word and we'll go hunt that bastard down!"

The Hokage realised he was at a loss. He'd protected Naruto for as long as he possibly could, but even he could not protect Naruto from a crime this bad. Sighing, the Hokage took a puff from his pipe, and accepted defeat.

"Fine. I want all persons Chunin and above to search for him. If you encounter him, I want you to do as little damage as possible. Bring him back alive. If he is harmed, you will have me to answer to, understood?"

The croud chorused a single word: "Hai!" before dispersing. Little did they know that this had all been planned by one very corrupt Chunin by the name of Mizuki, who gave a sadistic smile and grunt before heading for the place he had agreed to meet with Naruto.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back in the Forest:**

Naruto and Yukiko were now exhausted. They had each gone through the entire scroll learning everything they could. Most people would be surprised at how much these ninjas who were not even Genin had learnt from the scroll. They heard a person land on a branch of the tree they were leaning against and looked up to find one very ticked off Chunin.

"NA-RU-TO!"

"Ah! I found you Iruka-Sensei!"

Iruka sometimes wondered if this boy had anything except Ramen Noodles for brains. His eye visably twitched before he mesured his voice to reply.

"You found me? BAKA! I was the one who found you!"

Naruto just smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah I guess you did..."

Iruka looked at the pair who were obviously exauhsted. Were they... training? He then saw that the scared scroll was laying next to Naruto half open.

"Did you two..."

"Learn from the scroll? Yup! Sure did! I learnt 3 Jutsus!" Naruto said with a huge grin plastered to his face.

"I... I learnt 5 Justus..." This came from the girl who was sitting next to Naruto.

Iruka had heard about this girl from the Hokage. This was going to be his new student. Not only had the dead last of the class learnt 3 jutsus from this scroll, this girl had learnt 5! He could tell that they were both going to be incredible ninja. He smiled and dropped to the ground before walking over to them.

"That's great guys, but Hokage-Sama asked me to return you and the scroll to-"

Iruka didn't get to finish what he was saying before a hail of kunai came out of the bushes to his right. Iruka knew he didn't have time to dodge, so he did the only thing he could, he tried to lessen the impact. The kunais ripped through him and stabbed into his shoulder, legs and sides, blasting him against the trunk of a tree and pinning him there. Iruka slowly raised his head to see who his assailent was.

"I'm sorry Iruka, but that will not be happening. The scroll is coming with me."

Iruka opened his eyes in shock. This couldn't be! His childhood friend who had been with him through thick and thin... Was betraying him? He refused to believe it.

"M... MIZUKI!"

Now it was Naruto's turn to be shocked. The one who had told him about the scroll was attacking Iruka-Sensei?

"Ha ha ha ha! You were always the naïve one weren't you, Iruka?"

Coming out of the bushes was none other than Mizuki. He was in full battle dress, with his Chunin flak jaket and 2 giant shuriken strapped to his back. He looked at his former comrade and then turned to the two children.

"Well well well, what do we have here? The two demon children? Awww, look at that, they're huddling together like a couple, how cute. Looks like demons attract each other, hmm Well, no matter, I'll finish you both off one by one. Starting with the boy!"

Iruka looked on in horror as Mizuki took one of the giant shuriken off his back and began spinning it.

"However before I kill you boy, I must thank you for going to the trouble of taking the scroll for me. It saved me a lot of effort. For that I will grant you a quick death. Now, die you scum!"

Mizuki realeased the shuriken at Naruto at blinding speed. Iruka looked on in horror as he was about to lose his favorite student. He desperately struggled against the kunai holding him in place, but by the time he got free, he knew he was far too late. He did the only thing that came to his mind.

He screamed the name of his student.

"NARUTO!"

Naruto looked on in horror as the shuriken approached his face. He accepted fate and closed his eyes waiting for the end.

SPLAT

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Naruto thought to himself. _'There was no pain... does that mean that I'm...'_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked at the horrible scene before him. Yukiko was bent over Naruto, blood dripping off her back and down her sides with Mizuki's shiruken stuck in her back. She was trying to hold back tears and pain, and she smiled weakly at him.

"Naruto...Kun. What's with that look? It doesn't suit your face."

Yukiko held up a hand and gently brushed it over Naruto's cheek. Naruto started to tear up.

"Yukiko-Chan... Why? Why do this for me?"

Yukiko smiled at him before whispering her reply.

"Because it was the right thing to do."

Mizuki had been watching this the whole time and couldn't contain himself any longer. He burst out laughing and started rolling on the floor holding his sides.

"This... This is just too funny! Stop! No more! I'll die laughing from this play!"

Iruka was disgusted by his former teammate's actions. How could something this charming be considered funny?

"MIZUKI! How could you! This is the exact reason you didn't pass that exam! Because you lack the will to put your life on the line to save your friends!"

Muzuki suddenly became deadly serious. He didn't seem to mind that Naruto had taken Yukiko and fled. Right now he had more important matters to attend to.

"Is that so Iruka? I put my life on the line for you plenty of times. Where did it get me? A job looking over all those snotty nosed kids who call themselves NINJA? Some good that did me! And now you are teaching that damn demon fox! Even if he had the scroll, it's powers would be useless to him!"

"You're right. It would be useless to the demon fox."

Yukiko looked up at Naruto with sorrow and understanding. Naruto was now very very pissed off. _'So, even Iruka-Sensei thinks I'm that monster...'_ What came next though was nothing like what Naruto or Yukiko expected.

"But then again, the demon fox and Naruto are two very different separate entities. I hate the demon fox within him, but I treasure Naruto as one of my most precious students. Because I have acknowledged his existence."

With this, Naruto let his tears flow down his face in understanding. He now had 2 people who acknowledged his existance. He thought the world couldn't possibly get any better than this.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Iruka, I congratulate you on the world's corniest speech ever. But frankly, I've had enough. It's time to die, Iruka."

Iruka now lowered his head and accepted that he was finished. '_So this is the end, huh?'_ With a sad smile, he closed his eyes and waited. What happened next was totally unexpected. Just as Mizuki was about to release the shuriken, he felt two sandals kick him in the chin, knocking him to the ground.

**"Don't. You. DARE. Touch Iruka-Sensei. OR I'LL KILL YOU!"**

Standing in front of him were Naruto and Yukiko. Muzuki got up and gave an manic laugh. "Oh come on, what could you two wannabe ninjas possibly do to me? I'll kill you both in one shot!"

**"Try it trash. I'll return the favour one thousand fold."**

"THEN DO IT YOU DEMON FOX!"

"Naruto you BAKA! Take Yukiko and run! You don't stand a chance! Save yourselves..."

**"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."**

Iruka lost the will to scream at the spectacle before him. No wonder he had found them so beat up. They really HAD been training. Before him were a thousand Naruto and a thousand Yukiko shadow clones. Mizuki was obviously in the same position as Iruka.

"Wha... what's going on?"

**"What's wrong? Weren't you going to to kill us in one shot? Ha! Very well, I'll start things off then."**

The Naruto and Yukiko clones cracked their joints and then turned back to Mizuki.

**"Now, shall we?"**

All thoughout the forest, a scream could be heard that could only be described as a tourtured scream of a man being beaten sensless. The clones poofed out of existance leaving only the real Naruto and Yukiko grinning sheepishly over the distorted body of one very badly beaten Mizuki.

"Heh heh! I guess we overdid it... A little?"

Iruka looked at his new students with pride and awe. He wasn't wrong when he thought they were ging to be great ninjas.

"That was... astounding! Great job guys! I hope to see you both at the academy tomorrow for the Genin induction exam! Now, let's get back to town, ok?"

Both of the students turned to eachother and gave a big smile before nodding to Iruka and taking Mizuki and the scroll back to town.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

**A/N:** Yosh! Another one down for the count! As always, please keep the reviews and votes coming. And if you're wondering why I made Naruto learn 3 of the techniques from the scroll instead of one, let's just say I have my reasons and they suit the story line. Want to know what the other 2 techniques were? Hmmmm, I think I'll save one of them for the next chapter. The other? I'll use it when they go on their first big mission. Sorry if you don't like the idea of me deviating as much as I have from the official storyline, but it is my fic, and I wish to play it out as I like. Anyways, R&R and vote please. Otherwise, I may have to scrap the entire voting system and do it all myself (aww that's no fun!) Anyways, until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	4. The Past Revealed

**A/N:** Well, it's several hours after I finished wrinting the 3rd chapter and frankly I'm bored stupid. I've done all of my homework, and my friend isn't coming over for another few hours, so that should give me the time necessary to do this chapter. I don't know why, but when I eat toffee while writing it helps me think... Wierd, huh?

As always, I hope that my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

**(A):** Team 7 to the Snow: 0

**(B):** Team 7 to the Wave: 0

The vote for their first big mission STILL stands at nill all. Come on people! Votes, I say, VOTES!

Also, as a more... long term vote, I'm debating whether or not to give Naruto a Gekke Genkai (Bloodline Limit) sometime in the future. I've already decided that Yuikiko will have a Bloodline Limit that will help her with her medical skills. It's going to be roughly simmilar to the Byakugan, but I'll save the specifics till later. Any names for either Yukiko's Bloodline Limit or names and ideas for Naruto's Bloodline Limit would be greatly appreciated. Now the vote:

**(A):** Naruto does have a Bloodline Limit, which is basically the Kyubi's abilities, and as I intend to have these abilities passed down through the generations of the Uzumakis, so it is therefore considered a Bloodline Limit.

**(B):** Naruto gains a Bloodline Limit that involves gaining complete mastery of swords and sword that is only a handle when the Bloodline Limit is off, but when it's on the sword's blade emerges and is made of the Kyubi's chakra. A lightsaber if you will.

**(C):** You guys give me an idea as to what you would like for the Bloodline Limit if the two above don't suit you. (If you provide an original idea, please also provide a name for it, unless you're completely stumped, but I'll still give you the credit for it if I chose it)

**(D):** Naruto doesn't inherit a Bloodline Limit.

Now get to the part that you've all been waiting for!

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 4:

The Past Revealed:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Hokage's Office:**

It was a plesant morning. Mizuki had been interrogated and sent to the shinobi correctional facility indefinately. Naruto had gotten off with a light scolding and now Yukiko was in the Hokage's office awaiting his final verdict on whether or not she can become a shinobi of the leaf. The Hokage scribbled something down on the small pile of papers infront of him before looking up at the young girl.

"I won't lie to you, Yukiko. We need medical ninjas. Badly. One of my three pupils who is no w known as one of the worlds best medics published a paper and presented it to me on how the chances of survival of a team shot up by over 100 percent by just adding a medical ninja to the team, sadly I had to turn her down. I would have jumped at the offer, but at that point in time, we were in the middle of a hidden shinobi war. I saw the merit in the idea, but we just could not afford such expenditure. As I'm sure you know, medic nins need not only a decent set of normal shinobi skills, but a vast array of medical knowledge, superior chakra control and the will to help people. Someone with those qualities is exceptionally rare to come by. As much as the Snow asks me to return you to them, coming to this village seeking not only refuee status but showing that you have exceptional skill skill as a medic, I would like to offer you the chance to become a shinobi of the leaf."

Yukiko smiled happily as she was tackled by one very excited blonde haired blue eyed ninja.

"YATTA! Congratulations, Yukiko-Chan! Now we can work together and kick everyone's asses! Ha ha!"

Yukiko hugged Naruto back and smiled at him. "Thank you, Naruto-Kun."

The Hokage smiled happily at the fact that two very alone children had found a close friend in each other. He needed to get on to the next matter, even though it meant breaking them out of their little moment.

"Yukiko, I'm aware that you don't have any family or friends left alive do you?"

At this, Yukiko suddenly stopped smiling. "That is correct, Hokage-Sama."

"So that means I'm going to have to give you a new home. I'd love for you to move in with Naruto into his current apartment, but-"

"What do you mean 'but' old man? That's the perfect idea!"

Yukiko giggled at Naruto's antics, before turning back to the Hokage.

"If I'm not staying with with Naruto, then where will I be staying?"

"ha ha ha ha, you seemed to have misheard me. I said 'I'd love for you to move in with naruto in his _current_ apartment' but I fear that Naruto is too unsafe in his current unit block. I'm awear that Naruto has recived a new round of death threats from his neighbours after the incident with Mizuki and the scroll, so I have decided to break the requirement that the Yondaime gave to me. Naruto. Catch!"

Naruto swiftly caught the object thrown to him and opened his hand with Yukiko looking over his shoulder. In Naruto's palm was a very ornate key. It was gold plated, with a beautiful inlaid pattern of cerulean blue along the length of it. Attached to the key was a slip of paper covered in blue plastic. The slip of paper read _'Uzumaki Residence'_. Naruto's eyes became wider and wider, before he looked up at the Hokage with a look of pure confusion and suprise.

"Old man?"

"Ha ha ha, Naruto will you ever stop calling me 'old man'?" With a sigh, the Hokage continued "I supose you're wondering what that key opens. Here take this." He said as he slid a very elegant looking box across the table. The Box was made of a very polished oak, with the words _'Uzumaki'_ written in the most beautiful gold writing across the lid of the box he had ever seen. Naruto began to open it, but was stopped by the Hokage. "Naruto. Let me warn you now. That box is to be kept a secret from EVERYONE you know. Yukiko, myself and you are the only ones who are allowed to know about the existance of that box, do I make myself clear?"

Naruto looked more confused than ever before, but he nodded his head.

"What's so special about this box, old- I mean, Hokage-Sama?"

The Hokage raised an eye brow at this sudden sign of respect. He then thought about a way to tell Naruto about the box in a way that would not get him angry.

"That box is very special. I want you to take that box with you to this address." As he slipped a piece of paper across the desk. "This will be your new home. Once you're there, you may open the box. Just remember one thing. That box is more precious than my life. I ask of you one request, and that is to protect that box and it's contents with your life. Understood?"

Naruto was now at a total and utter loss. What the hell could be in this box that was more precious that the old man's life? And why was he trusting it to Naruto of all people? Again he dumbly nodded his head.

Naruto then looked at the piece of paper and read the address. He dropped the piece of paper and just stared blankly at the Hokage.

"This is some kind of joke, isn't it?"

Yukiko gave Naruto a confused look before bending her knees and picking up the piece of paper. It read: '_67, Teal Drive'_ Yukiko looked between the Hokage and Naruto.

"Teal Drive? Where's that?"

Naruto turned to Yukiko and looked at her with happiness slowly making its way onto his face.

"Yukiko-Chan, Teal Drive is the street where only the richest people in the village live. No one but the head clans and royalty live on Teal Drive! My old apartment could fit inside the smallest house 7 times over!"

Yukiko frowned. Something just didn't add up here. Naruto had practically lived a life of near poverty, and now he was suddenly moving in with the richest of the rich? A piece of the puzzle was missing. A big one at that. Yukiko turned to the Hokage questioningly, but realised she wasn't going to get an answer. Suddenly, something clicked. The key to the 'Uzumaki Residence' was to 67 Teal Drive. Could that mean that the Uzumakis were once...

The Hokage realised that comprehension had dawned on Yukiko. _'She's a sharp one.'_ Unwanting to be hit with a barage of questions, the Hokage decided to wrap things up.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your new home. Now if I'm not mistaken, you have several hours before the Genin test begins, does it not?"

Naruto had completely forgotten about the test! He was going to be late. So he grabbed Yukiko by the wrist and carried the box under his other arm before Yukiko could start her questioning, and shouted to the Hokage as he ran out the door.

"Thanks old man!"

The Hokage sighed. He knew it was too much to ask for for Naruto to keep calling him Hokage-Sama. With that he went back to his work and hoped Naruto didn't take what was coming for him too badly.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Front Door to 67 Teal Drive:**

Naruto and Yukiko gasped when they got to the address mentioned. This was one big house indeed! Naruto checked the piece of paper again, and then went to check the numbers on the letter box again.

_'No doubt about it, this is it...'_

Naruto jumped up and down before turning to Yukiko. "Wow, this is so awesome Yukiko-Chan! We finally get our own house, and a big one at that! Come on let's go inside and check it out!"

Yukiko blushed when Naruto took her hands in his and smiled at her._ 'It's almost like I'm falling for him... Am I?'_ Suddenly a contented sigh echoed at the back of her mind.

_**'Ah young love... Nothing like it..'**_

Yukiko suddenly turned beet red and Naruto stopped smiling and looked at her in a very concerned fashion.

"Yukiko-Chan? Are you feeling alright? You're very red. Do you have a temperature or something?"

Naruto then placed a hand on her forehead and then a sudden snapping sound could be heard (you know, one of those anime snaps, like when Naruto did this to Hinata in the Anime when he was hanging from the ceiling of the hospital and Hinata was about------that close to Naruto's face) Yukiko suddenly cried out and knocked Naruto on the head with her head and they both slumped to the ground.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Inside Naruto's mind:**

Naruto suddenly heard a dark roaring laughter. He opened his eyes to find him standing infront of an all too familiar cage.

"**I have to admit, kit. That was some seriously funny stuff. Best attempt to hide young love I've ever seen. You get nine tails out of nine for making me laugh so hard. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

"Shut up you damn fox! I was only showing concern for her because she looked sick!"

"**Oh come now. Sick? Kit, to use one of your own expressions, you're a few noodles short of a ramen bowl. Can't you tell? It's so obvious even I can tell! She's in love with you!"**

"In love with.. me?"

The king of the Kitsune gave an exasperated sigh

"**Yes in love with you! You have to be one of the densest kits I know! I have to admit though, she's a rather exotic vixen too. Georgeous face, well developed chest, thin waist-"**

"AHHHHHH! Stop turning me into a pervert! I'm not like you!"

The Kyubi gave up. There was no use telling him any more if he was refusing to accept how she felt for him.

"**Believe what you want kit. I can't force you to realise that. Although if you do give her up, I will personally rip you to shreds, you understand me? I'm not giving up the chance to be with my mate once again."**

Naruto looked up at his tenant. Mate? Since when did Kyubi pick a human as his mate? The Kyubi realised what the kit was thinking about. This kit was was more perverted than he claimed to be.

"**Honestly, do you really think my standards are that low? Mate with an UNDERAGE HUMAN? Kit, you're more perverted than you realise. No, I'm talking about her tenant, Nibi, the two tailed cat, Queen of the Damned."**

Naruto softened visably. The king of the Kitsunes decided he'd had enough of a prep talk with his 'landlord' so to speak, and decided to send him back to the real world.

"**Remember, Kit. Don't play dumb around her. Accept her into your life and I garuntee you you'll be the luckiest man alive. Trust me on that one. Now, I think I've had enough chatting with you. That Genin test is this morning, is it not? You've only been out for about 30 seconds in the real world, so I suggest waking up and finding that vixen a bed. NO THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! And you call me perverted? Seriously kit, get your mind out of the gutter. Go on, wake up. Later kit."**

And with that, Naruto returned from his deep subconcious meditation to find him slumped against the railings leading up to the front door of the house. Blinking his eyes he quickly jumped up and unlocked the door and picked Yukiko, and placed the box on her stomach bfore running inside and nudging the door closed with his foot. He ran though the front hallway and looked at the stairwell infront of him. That looked like a good bet, so he ran up and then made a 180 degree turn and went up another set of stairs. Once he reached to top, he saw that this was obviously the room with the bedrooms in it. Without thinking, he ran to the nearest door and opened it to be shocked at what he saw. This was a very elaborate bedroom. It alone was about the size of his old apartment minus the bathroom, but then he saw an ensuite and scratched that. This room WAS bigger than his appartment. Without wasting any more time, he went to the four poster bed that was obviously meant for two people. The head and foot of the bed were a dark mahogany and had a beautiful cerulean blue cover with an emerald green konoha symbol on it. Naruto then laid Yukiko down on the bed and looked at her sleeping peacefully.

_'Was Kyubi right? Is she really in love with me? Am I in love with her? Gah! I'll never get ready for the exam if I just stand here staring at her though...'_

Suddenly, an all too familiar grumble emitted from Naruto's stomach. Naruto gave an embarrased smile before decideing to go raid the kitchen for breakfast. Naruto picked the box up off the bed and placed it on a desk in the corner of the room and made a beeline for the kitchen. Naruto's line of thought reasoned that if someone was keeping this house clean, they'd definitely restock the kitchen. When Naruto wondered into the kitchen, he saw a note on the kitchen bench. picking it up, he began reading it.

_'Dear Naruto,_

_I have taken the liberty of preparing this house for you to move into. I've fully stocked the kitchen with every type of ramen you can think of. But I've also packed the refrigerator full of vegitables, fruits and other more... nutritious things than ramen. I hope you enjoy your new house. Take care,_

_Hokage.'_

Naruto smiled. That old man sure knew how to win his heart. As Naruto set down the note again, he opened the first cupboard he could reach and he stared at the cupboard's contents before muttering something which quickly worked it's way into a very loud bellow.

"YATTA! SPECIAL NINDO RAMEN! I LOVE THIS STUFF!"

The volume of this statement was enough to startle Yukiko awake. _'Does that boy EVER get tired?'_

_**'Unlikely, kitten. He does have my mate sealed inside him after all.'**_

_'Good point.'_

_**'Why don't you go down and get something for breakfast?'**_

_'Yeah.'_

With that, Yukiko swung her legs over the edge of the bed and marvled at the room for the first time. This was certainly a very extravagent room. Shaking her head in disbelief, she made her way towards the ever increasing roar that was Naruto's voice.

"WOW! HE EVEN GAVE ME 60 PACKETS OF THAT LIMITED EDITION SECRET FIRE COUNTRY RAMEN! THIS IS SO AWESOME!"

"Naruto-Kun?"

"Hmmm?"

With that she put her hand over his mouth to silence him.

"Baka! You'll wake up the entire village at this rate! Keep it down ok?"

He nodded his head.

"Good. To tell you the truth, I really can't be bothered to make breakfast today. Could you please make something for me? I'm going to go take a quick shower before breakfast. Call me when it's ready ok?"

"Gotcha! See you in a bit!"

With that she smiled and before she realised what she was doing, she took Naruto into her arms and gave him a hug that was a little more than friendly. Naruto didn't know what happened, and he was shocked to say the least. But after a few moments, he instictively put his arms around her waist. Yukiko pulled back to look at Naruto and give him a very warm smile.

"Naruto-Kun, I think you're a really great guy. I really don't see why the other villagers can't accept you. But I won't let anyone harm you while I'm by your side, ok? You're... too much of a close friend to lose. Do you want to make a promise? I'll always protect you if you do the same for me?"

Naruto thought about it for a fraction of a second and gave her one of his trademark foxy grins.

"You got it, Yukiko-Chan! We'll protect eachother to the end! That's a promise!"

They smiled at each other before Yukiko pulled away and went to go take a shower. As soon as she left Naruto's arms, Naruto suddenly felt like part of his being had been taken away. He then realised that he only felt 'complete' so to speak when Yukiko was in his arms. He sighed and turned around to start making the only thing he knew how to. Ramen.

Little did Naruto know that Yukiko was thinking almost exactly the same thing he was.

_'I feel so... empty when I'm not in his arms...'_

"_**I must say, you've gotten the worst case of love pangs I've ever seen, kitten.'**_

_'WHAT DID YOU SAY? Love Pangs? You've got to be kidding me! Sure I like him, maybe as a bit more than a friend, but...'_

_**'But?'**_

_'I don't know, ok? Maybe I do love him, maybe I don't.'_

_**'This may take a while to get used to, but I believe you'll regret it if you don't continue developing the relationship with him. Trust me, that boy could satisfy your wildest desires-'**_

_'AHHHHHH! I don't love him enough to do that kind of stuff yet!'_

_**'Oh? You just admitted you love him, didn't you?'**_

Yukiko just realised what she had admitted. There was no point in denying it any longer.

_'Ok, ok, so I do love him. So what? Can we just drop this now?'_

_**'Sure thing, kitten.'**_

With her work done, Nibi prayed that Kyubi was doing his half of the work. Unfortunately for her, Kyubi was having a much tougher time convicing his vessel of his feelings for her vessel. She went back to sleep in her cell, satisfied with her mental persuasion.

_**'Admit it kit. You have fallen head over heals in love.'**_

_'Damn it! For the last time, no I haven't!'_

_**'You're a persistant little brat, aren't you?'**_

_'So are you you damn fox!'_

With a deep chuckle, the Kyubi focused his senses through Naruto's nose and took a wiff of his mate's container.

_**'I'll admit it too you now, that vixen smells pretty good for a human. The perfect mix of a feline scent mixed with sweat, and a hint of musk.'**_

_'EWWWWWWW! That's totally gross!'_

_**'Is it?'**_

Kyubi's question caught Naruto totally of guard. What did he mean 'is it?' Of course it is... isn't it?

_'Well, now that I think about it, she kinda did make me feel funny when I smelt her hair just before...'_

The Kyubi had had enough. This kit put a sack of bricks to shame when it came to being thick.

_**'For god's sake kit! Do you know what that 'funny' feeling even is? Did you EVER get the lecture on the 'birds and the bees'?**_

Naruto just stared at Kyubi blankly.

_'Birds and the Bees? What the hell was that?'_

The kyubi nearly tore his fur out in fustration. How could the kit possibly be so... so... STUPID?

_**'My god kit! Don't they teach you ANYTHING in that damn academy of yours? Alright, listen up and listen closely, I'm giving this lecture once and once only. I seriously can't believe that the king of the demons has been reduced to teaching a mere human about love! Have we really fallen so far? Anyways listen up! When a man and a woman love each other...'**_

Although Yukiko was oblivious to the talk that was going on in Naruto's head, Nibi was able to guess by the minute amounts of Kyubi's chakra seeping out from Naruto's body as to what was going on. She failed to contain herself after a few minutes and just burst out laughing.

_'What's so funny?'_

_**'Oh, my mate's just giving his container the prep talk on the birds and the bees. It's the best laugh I've had in many centuries.'**_

_'Why on earth would he be giving Naruto-Kun THAT talk?'_

_**'I'l give it to the boy, he's devilishly hansom, has an intoxicating aroma, an abhorrent stamina capacity, but he has a potato for brains.'**_

_'Don't speak about Naruto-Kun like that!'_

_**'Oh? Defending your mate, are you? How honourable.'**_

_'So? He may not be the sharpest knife in the draw, but he's still not that bad!'_

_**'Fine, believe what you will. In any case, how about getting dressed and going down for breakfast, hmm?'**_

_'Good idea.'_

When Yukiko entered the room, what she saw was priceless. The look on Naruto's face was the look of someone who litterally just had the veil of naivity ripped from their eyes and now saw the world in all it's shocking realism. She then realised what her tenant had said was true. Naruto heard Yukiko entering the room and whipped his head around with a look of so many conflicting emotions displayed on his face that she just burst out laughing.

"Oh, Naruto-Kun, the look on your face is priceless. If only I had a camera here.."

She tried to open her eyes and focus on the kitchen counter. Low and behold, there on the table was nothing other than a disposable camera. She couldn't believe her luck. She quickly checked how many shots it had left and found out that there was a full roll of film left. She immedaitely brought the camera to her face and started snapping pictures.

_**'Oh! Get ready to take a picture! This is going to be the best part!**_

_**3...**_

_**2...**_

_**1...**_

_**NOW!'**_

Yukiko started snapping pictures madly as soon as that three letter word was mentioned, and was she ever thankful for the advanced warning because at that moment, Kyubi just got to the most intergral part of the prep talk. (Yes, THAT part)

**BOOM!**

Naruto went flying back into the air with twin geysers of blood gushing out of his nose and crashed into the far wall. Yukiko couldn't contain herself any longer and dropped the now fully used camera onto the bench top and rolled around the floor laughing. This was the funiest thing both Bijus and Yukiko had ever seen. And all of it was recorded on camera, and would be exceptional blackmail material if required. Yukiko then looked at the clock and noticed they had wasted a lot of time so far. She slowly used the bench for support before making her way over to where Naruto had landed in a heap, still leaking blood out of his nose. Still giggling, she picked up Naruto and gave him a gentle shake.

"Naruto-Kun? We-hehehehe-We have to get moving. The test is going to start in an hour and a half. Naruto-Kun?"

_**'He's completely out of it kitten. Just let him rest for a while. After living a naïve life like that, I'm not surprised he reacted the way he did. I suggest making him some of those... what do you call them... "Special Nindo Ramen"? That should wake him up.'**_

_'Sure thing.'_

Meanwhile, Naruto was in a state of shock.

_'Are you SERIOUS? People actually DO that kind of thing?'_

_**'You bet kit. It's renound as the most plesurable expeirences known to humans.'**_

_'But... I mean... They actually... DO IT!'_

_**'Where do you think you came from kit?'**_

_'EWWWWWWW!'_

_**'Seriously, Kit. Get over it. Anyways, I think I can smell some ramen... And not just any ramen. Some Special Nindo Ramen.'**_

Not believing what he was told, Naruto took a sniff of the air.

_'Hey, you're right!'_

Naruto just realised how hungry he was. His stomach whole heartedly agreed, replying with a very loud growl.

_**'Heh. Go on kit, go eat. After that, go show those bastards at the academy that we're not losers.'**_

_'Sure thing.'_

With that, Naruto woke up to find 5 bowls of Special Nindo Ramen waiting for him. Not containing himself any longer, he rushed to the table and started eating at breakneck speed. Yukiko looked on in wonder at not only the speed Naruto was eating at, but the volume of food he was consuming.

_'My god, how does he manage to pay for all the food if this is what he eats for BREAKFAST?'_

_**'Heh, a growing kit needs his food. Just a warning. NEVER get in the way of an animal and their food.'**_

By the time Yukiko had finished her bowl, Naruto had long finished his five. Sighing, Naruto stood up and started walking towards the hallway.

"Eh, thanks for making me the ramen, Yukiko-Chan. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Naruto-Kun."

They smiled at each other, before quickly trying something to fill the tension between them.

"Um... I'm going to take a shower. Once I finish, do you want to head for the academy?"

"Uh.. Sure... Ill get our bags ready."

"Ok, see you in a few minutes!"

With that, Naruto quickly scampered out of the room. Leaving both of them to struggle with their internal feelings for each other.

After Naruto's shower, he quickly realised he didn't have any clean clothes. He went to the chest of draws and saw a multitude of clothing. He sorted through it before settling on a pair of black cargo pants and a red muscle shirt and then decided to throw on a black vest over the top. He then turned around and saw the box ontop of the besk where he had left it.

_'Oh well. One look counld't hurt, could it?'_

He trudged over and opend the box to find it had beautiful purple velvet sides, and a stack of paper, as well as other assorted things in it. The very top piece of paper caught Naruto's attention as it said 'To Naruto' on the front in roughly scrawled handwriting.

Naruto shakily picked up the piece of paper and opened it delicately, afraid it might crumble in his hands. Openeing it, he saw the same roughly scrawled handwriting inside as on the front. He prepared for the worst and began to read:

_'Dear Naruto,_

_If you are reading this letter, it means that you are now a Genin or are not far from it. I fully regret that I will not be present to watch you graduate. If I could have done it, believe me, I would have. I want nothing more than to see you follow in my footsteps and maybe ever surpass me. I don't have much time left, as right now, we are fighting a losing war aginst the Kyubi no Kitsune. I have developed a technique that I hope will be able to stop it's murderous rampage. Your mother is standing next to me, cradiling you in her arms. You look so serene while you sleep, unawear of the fate that you must carry. I'm... so sorry that I have to do this to you. I understand if you never forgive me, because I truly don't deserve it. Naruto, this is the last time we will ever communiate.'_ At this point, the ink on the page seems to have run, indicating that some sort of liquid had mixed with the ink before it had dried. Most likely tears. Pushing on, Naruto continued to read. _'I hope you find some girl that will make you happy, Naruto. When you do, treasure her and protect her with your life. We are the last of the Uzumakis. With what will transpire in the next few hours, the number of Uzumakis walking the face of the planet will be reduced to one. You. I have to go now, we have reports that the walls of the town have been breached. Fairwell, my son. Remember that we will always love you, and protect you in spirit._

_Love,_

_Uzumaki Arashi & Uzumaki Natsuhi._

_PS: In case you haven't noticed, your old man was the Hokage. Yondiame, to be exact. Now that you know that, I expect you to surpass me. I will not accept anything less than you reaching Hokage , or at least captain of the ANBU forces like your mother._

_PPS: Below this letter in the box is everything you could want to know about our heratige, our trademark jutsus and other assorted things._

_PPPS: I really shouldn't be doing this, but don't forget that we will always love you, even if you don't love us. Goodbye, my son.'_

Naruto just dropped the letter and bawled his eyes out. How could no one tell him about this? He was the son of a HOKAGE for god's sake! People wouldn't have dared touch him if they knew that.

Downstairs, Yukiko was just finishing packingtheir bags when she heard sobs coming from upstairs. Very worried, she turned away from the bags and ran towards the sound of crying. When she reached the bedroom, she found Naruto on the floor in a fetal position next to a piece of paper. Her maternal instinct took over she rushed to his side and hugged him in a bear hug.

"Naruto-Kun? What's wrong? Tell me what happened."

Naruto just loked up at her with a pleading expression in his eyes, before he pointed to the piece of paper and whispered: "Read it."

Yukiko picked up the piece of paper and began reading it. The pieces of the puzzle were now fitting together. The reason why he was hated, why he didn't have any parents, why he specifically had been chosen as the container. All of it fit together perfectly. She let a tear roll down her cheek, and went back to Naruto and hugged him, before kissing his forehead.

"It's going to be ok, Naruto-Kun, I promise. Would your dad have wanted to see you like this? Come on Naruto-Kun, be strong. Today is the day of the Genin exams. Show them why you are not to be messed with."

Naruto stopped his crying and hugged Yukiko fiercly. He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes before whispering: "Thank you."

They both closed their eyes and leaned in, and slowly, their lips met in a light kiss. They both just sat there, enjoying these new sensations that they had never experienced before. To them, it felt like an eternity but it was infact only a few minutes. Slowly they pulled apart, gasping for air. They looked at eachother with a new expression on their faces... Love.

Naruto didn't know what to say. Luckily, a certain tenant did.

_**'Ask her.'**_

_'Bwaaah?'_

_**'Very eloquent kit. I said ask her to be your girlfriend.'**_

_'But-'_

_**'Trust me.'**_

With much blushing Naruto began stuttering and mubling before his words were finally audiable.

"Um, Yukiko-Chan will you... um... bemygirlfriend?"

Yukiko smiled, and looked at him with a mixture of understanding and love.

"Yes, Naruto-Kun, I will."

They both smiled at each other again before Naruto began figiting again.

"Um... may... I... um..."

Again, Yukiko smiled in understanding.

"Yes, Naruto-Kun."

He smiled before leaning in to claim another kiss. This one however was slightly more passionate, although shorter than the last one. Both demons gave themselves an immaginary high five and a very loud:

"**Yatta!"**

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** OMFG, what a draining chapter! Over 6 hours of writing! Oh god, I need a break! I definitely have to say, this chapter was not only the funniest one so far, but the saddest and happiest one so far as well. As always, comments and votes would be nice. Right now, I'm going to go lay down on my bed and take a snooze. I got so wrapped up in going over Naruto's past that I just had to cut it short. There was no way in hell I'd just keep writing this chapterto include not only the Genin exams, but the formation of team 7 as well. I'd litterally die if I did that. Oh well,until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	5. Proving Grounds

**A/N:** I don't know what's come over me, but my finger are... ITCHING to write. I've just finished writing the 4th chapter which took over 6 FRIKING HOURS to write and now I'm onto the 5th. This time, I PROMISE I'll include at least the Genin Exams. And to add an interesting little... twist to the plot, I've decided that Naruto will use one of his skills learnt from the sacred scroll as well as one from 'THE BOX'. Those of you who have read the last chapter will understand what the box is. I'll show those temes in Naruto's class not to underestimate him!

As always, I hope that my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

**(A):** Team 7 to the Snow: 1

**(B):** Team 7 to the Wave: 0

Yosh! VOTES! Ok, since the next chapter is going to include Team 7's first big mission, It's decided! TO THE SNOW!

Second Vote:

**(A):** Kyubi Abilities as Bloodline Limit: 2

**(B):** Lightsaber Bloodline Limit: 0

**(C):** Your own personal ideas of a Bloodlone Limit: 1

**(D):** Naruto doesn't inherit a Bloodline Limit: 0

Ok, I'm getting a lot of votes for the Kyubi abilities to be a Bloodline Limit, so I'm basically going to scrap B and D and bring out a new vote:

**(A):** Kyubi Bloodline Limit: 2

**(B):** Some sort of Doujutsu (Eye ability) that allows the break down of both hand and carved seals to enable the formation of completely new and never before seen seals: 1

(Personally, I'd have to agree with **MoOn-ShInE-LoRd** on this one as it makes plenty of sense to Naruto's abilities, if you think about it. Again, props to **MoOn-ShInE-LoRd **for the idea! The name is yours for the taking. Tell me what you want for the name and I'll substitute Doujutsu with said name. Others can help decide on the name as well.)

**(C):** Other original Bloodline Limit: 0

I'll accept one more good idea for an original Bloodline Limit. But let me just warn you about something. Nothing TOO over the top, k? Naruto's already powerful enough with Kyubi's chakra as it is, so I want the Bloodline Limit to be something minor.

Now get to the part that you've all been waiting for!

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 5:

Yellow Hurricane:

**Naruto's Bedroom:**

After gazing into each other's eyes for an indescriminate period of time, Kyubi remembered what was supposed to happen today amd decided to break the moment.

_**'Oi, Kit. As much as I hate to break this touching moment, I'd suggest digging through the box quickly and getting some of the techniques out of it.'**_

_'I hate to admit it, but I gotta agree with you on this one.'_

"Um, Yukiko-Chan... I'm going to go through this box quickly and try and get some techniques down before Acadamy starts. If you want, you can sit here with me and watch, or maybe even look through some of these yourself..."

Yukiko smiled and understood how much that box actually meant to him, and felt her heart melt that he was willing to share it with her so soon.

_**'He's a sweet kit, isn't he?'**_

_'Yeah, no wonder I love him.'_

With that, they started shifting through the box, pulling out all sorts of odds and ends. Things ranged from three headed obsidean kunais to strange and wonderful seals and small scrolls that held sacred family techniques.

"Naruto-Kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Didn't your father have a trademark move called... Hiraishin no jutsu... or something?"

"Yeah! Come to think about it, he did too! Let's see if I can find it in here! Thanks for reminding me Yukiko-Chan!"

Smiling at each other, they flipped through the scrolls and pieces of parchment until they found a yellow coloured scroll with the Kanji for 'Hiraishin no jutsu' on it. They both looked at each other wide eyed and opened it. They lent in close and became totally engrossed in the scrolls lesson.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Same Scene, just an hour and 15 minutes later:**

Naruto lay on the bed gasping. He'd done it. He'd learnt how to do the Hiraishin no jutsu. Finally, everyone would learn to respect the great Uzumaki Naruto. Yukiko layed beside him. She unfortunately, had not been able to grasp the technique. Naruto turned to his new girlfriend and smiled. Yukiko had also turned to him and smiled. Deciding they'd have one more leaf through the box's contents before leaving for the Academy, they got up and walked over to the pile of scrolls, partchment and objects littered across the floor with the Uzumaki Box in the center. Picking up a stack of parchments that were closest to them to place back in the box, he noticed that a small slip of paper had fallen out. Curious as to what it was, he picked it up and read it.

_'Well son, this is going to be my final gift to you. I know that you will lead a life frought with danger, so I decided to use my last few days on earth scouting for my final gift for you. At the bottom of this page is a pair of seals. Draw your blood and smear it across the left seal. Make sure you do this in a wide space, as the results take up a fair amount of room. Basically, The left seal is a one time use seal that can be used to summon the contract holder of the foxes. Very fitting don't you think? Anyways, I decided to get another one just for good measure, and although I came across many, I had a difficult time deciding which one to pick, so in the end, I picked a number out of a hat (corny way of deciding, huh?) to decide which other contract holder to include. The winner was Cats. Sorry if this wasn't what you wanted, but I hope you like it son._

_Uzumaki Arashi.'_

Naruto almost started tearing up again, but he shook his head and headed to the door of the room. He turned back to Yukiko and beconed her to follow. As he reached the front door, something caught his eye. On the back of the front door was a pair trench coats. Not just any trench coats, but both of them were long and white, with red flames licking the base of the cloak. Naruto went and pulled the larger one off it's holder on the back of the door and looked over it. It had the symbol of a frog that had a gash down one of it's eyes and a pipe coming out of it's mouth on the right breast and on it's left breast and the embroided name of Arashi on the front. Turning it over, he noticed on the back was the name Uzumaki in big red lettering. Naruto grew wide eyed.

"This... This is my dad's coat!"

Yukiko was amazed, and then looked back up at where Naruto had gotten the coat from. She noticed that there was a simmilar, although much smaller one on the other hook. Taking it down she examined it.

On the left breast was a picture of the Kyubi. On the right breast was the name Naruto. Turning it over, she saw the name Uzumaki on the back in the same big red lettering. Turning to Naruto, she handed the cloak to him.

"I think your parents were expecting you here."

"Nani? What's this?... Oh my god! My own version of dad's coat! SWEET!"

Without a second thought, Naruto put the coat on and saw a piece of paper stuck to the inside using chakra. He went to remove it and found the chakra to be very warm, comforting and above all, very familiar. As soon as he disengauged it, the Chakra shot up into Naruto's hand, giving him a sudden jolt, before leaving him strangely calm. Yukiko saw this and started getting worried.

"Naruto-Kun? Are you ok?"

Naruto snapped out of his little day dream and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go out and I'll show you what I wanted to show you, ok?"

Nodding her head, Yukiko put her hand in Naruto's and they blushed a bit before walking outside. Once they were outside, Yukiko glanced at her watch and opened her eyes in horror.

"Naruto-Kun! We only have 10 minutes until the exam!"

Naruto just smiled and held her had, calming her temporarily.

"Don't worry, I have it all planned out."

Taking out the piece of paper that he had found, he bit his thumb and smeared his blood across the left seal and instantly, the piece of paper began to smoke. Both their eyes grew in fear, as Naruto threw the piece of paper into the street. Suddenly, a loud poof of smoke apeared and began to clear. When it did clear, both of them stood there shocked. Before them was a five tailed Golden Kitsune with a large scroll held in it's jaws. The Kitsune brought it's eyes to the pair and then looked at Naruto, narrowing it's eyes.

"**You are Uzumaki Naruto, correct?"**

Naruto snapped out of his stupor and responded.

"That's right! The one and only."

The Kitsune's eyes narrowed and then he bowed down to Naruto. Releasing the scroll at Naruto's feet.

"**You are the first to ever sign the contract of the foxes. You should feel lucky. Well, what are you waiting for? Sign the contract and get this over with! I hate the mortal realm."**

"Uh, how do I sign the contract?"

The Kitsune sighed.

"**Just unroll the scroll and go to the first column. Then, draw blood and write your name in blood, and underneath that, put blood on the tips of your 4 other fingers and then sign the contract with your handprint. Simple as that."**

Naruto smiled. He bit his thumb and wrote his name in the first column of the scroll.

"U-Zu-Ma-Ki-Na-Ru-To"

He then brought each of his fingers to his thumb and then pressed his fingerprint onto the bottom of his collumn.

"Oh and by the way, what are the seals for the summoning?"

The Kitsune practically facefualted, but quickly recovered.

"**The seals are Dog, Dragon, Horse, Serpent, Boar, in that order. Anyways, the pact is sealed. Welcome to the world of the kitsunes, Uzumaki Naruto. I'm out of here. Until next time, kit."**

The Kitsune picked up the scroll in his mouth, and then just poofed out of existance. Reaslising that they only had 10 minutes left, Naruto hurried and picked up the piece of paper. He held it out to Yukiko and told her what to do. She bit her thumb and smeared her blood on the right seal, and they quickly threw it out onto the street knowing what to expect. They were not dissapointed as they saw the seal starting to smoke and then another loud poof. After the smoke had cleared, they saw infront of them a two tailed black cat. The cat also had a scroll in it's mouth. The cat looked at both of them, but this time she settled on Yukiko.

"**You are Yakushi Yukiko, correct?"**

"Hai!"

"**As with Uzumaki Naruto being the first to sign the contract of the Kitsunes, you are the first to sign the contract of the cats. Do I really need to explain myself as to how to sign the contract?"**

"No, I'm fine."

"**Thank god for that."**

With that the cat bent down and released the scroll from her mouth. She then curled up to take a nap while Yukiko signed the contract. Yukiko bit her thumb and began writing.

"Ya-ku-shi Yu-ki-ko."

Then like Naruto did, she brought each of her fingers to her thumb and sealed the contract with her finger prints.

"**Welcome to the world of cats, Yukiko. The seals for summoning cats are: Monkey, Ox, Tiger, Hare and Bird in that order. Now if you don't mind, I have some napping to do. Ja ne."**

Once again, the cat picked up the scroll and then poofed out of existence. Yukiko then turned to Naruto with a very worried look on her face.

"We only have 5 minutes! How are we supposed to get there on time?"

Naruto just smirked and picked up Yukiko bridal style, who gave a small squeal.

"Didn't I say I had this all planned out? Watch and see. Hiraishin no jutsu!"

Naruto turned into a yellow streak, wizzing over the roofs of buildings and stopping one building short of the Academy. Looking at his watch, it showed he had 2 minutes to spare.

"As I said, all planned out."

He smiked and let her down, before they both ran into the classroom.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

As they entered the classroom, everyone just stopped and stared. Not only was there a very beautiful girl entering the class, but who came next totally surprised everyone. Standing infront of them was a chibi version of the Yondaime Hokage. Soon enough, people started picking up that fact that Yondaime Hokage didn't have wiskers. Only one person in the whole village had those wiskers.

"NA-RU-TO! What is the meaning of dressing up like our Yondaime Hokage? He was far better then trash like you!"

Naruto stopped and stared in the direction of where the voice had come.

"Is that so, Haruno-San? Would you like to take this outside and see if that's really true?"

People were getting more and more confused. Haruno-San? Didn't he always call her Sakura-Chan?

But just when they were about to fire off a volley of questions, Naruto noticed a boy who was slobbering and looking at Yukiko with hearts in his eyes. Naruto had had enough. He body flickered and appeared behind the boy with a three pronged obsidean kunai at his throat. He whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear. And what they did hear chilled them to the bone.

"I'd advise you to keep your eyes off my girlfriend, if you value your head, understood?"

Naruto not only was dressed as Yondaime Hokage but had a GIRLFRIEND now as well? People opened their mouths to speak, but just then, Iruka walked into the room and everyone returned to their seats.

"Alright students, today is the day of the graduation exams. Before we get into that though, I'd like to introduce the newest member of the class. Her name is Yakushi Yukiko. She is currently living with Naruto. Why don't you introduce yourself, Yukiko?"

With a smile, Yukiko turned to the class.

"Hi, my name is Yakushi Yukiko. I come from a line of well respected medics from the village of snow. Unfortunately, I am the last of my line as well. My hobbies are hanging out with Naruto-Kun, learning, eating and meditating. I'm hoping I can learn to know you all better."

With that, Yukiko bowed and took a seat next to Naruto and put her hand on top of his, which Naruto smiled at. Everyone turned back to Iruka as he continued with an explination of the exams.

"Like last year, there will be three tests, however, we feel that the Henge test has become redundant. As of this year we have replaced it with a test where you must use two techniques of your own choice, as long as they are executed perfectly. Henge will still be allowed however. For the first test, shuriken practice. First up: Uchiha Sasuke. Evereyone follow me to the school training grounds."

Every girl whatched with baited breath as Uchiha Sasuke lined up and took aim. He released his shurikens, all of which hit the mark. The girls squealed and the guys opened their eyes in amazement, except for Yukiko and Naruto, who fell to the ground laughing. Everyone turned to them and looked in disgust.

"He's better than you Naruto!" "Yeah! I wouldn't be laughing if I were you!" "Dead last!"

Naruto stopped and held up a hand. "Better then me you say? Would you agree with that Uchiha?"

People started yelling out things like 'of course he is!' and the like, but Naruto once again held up his hand for silence.

"Let the Uchiha speak for himself, he is after all a big boy now."

Sasuke smirked and replied in his usual cocky tone.

"Beat me if you can, dead last."

Naruto turned to Iruka and smirked.

"Iruka-Sensei. Can I go next?"

Iruka looked through his clipboard before sighing and giving him the indication to go.

"Go on, Naruto."

Everyone just sneered and waited for all the shuriken to miss their mark. Naruto sneered back, before giving Yukiko a smile and a wink. Naruto then flicked his wrist and began flying through a set of hand seals before announcing his technique.

"Kage Shuriken no Justsu!"

Everyone stared wide eyed as the Shurikens multiplied by two, then by four, then by eight. Naruto then watched with a smirk as all the shuriken peppered the log before turning it into a pincushin. As the last one hit, the log shattered into splinters. Turning back to the class he gave Yukiko a hug and then approached the Uchiha.

"As you were saying, DEAD LAST?"

People started saying things like 'cheater!' and 'you're not allowed to use techniques during this part!' and so on. Iruka had no idea what to do. According to the rules, nothing stated that you couldn't use Kage Shuriken no Jutsu, but it was just never expected.

"Well, there's not exactly any rules saying he can't..."

"Nani!"

"I guess I just have to give you a mark. 1st of 30 Naruto."

Naruto went to the back of the croud and just held Yukiko's hand while watching the others pail miserably in comparison to him. Finally it was Yukiko's turn.

"Show them that we're not to be messed with, eh Yukiko-Chan?"

"Sure thing, Naruto-Kun."

Just like Naruto had, Yukiko gave a slight flick of her wrist, then went through the same hand seals as Naruto.

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!"

Again, all the targets hit there mark and the log just managed to hold up for a few seconds before it shattered under the huge amount of pressure. Everyone turned to Yukiko and formed a perfect 'O' with their mouths. Iruka just sighed and gave her a mark. These two were definitely becoming fine young ninja.

"Again, I'm impressed with your abilities, Yukiko. Although you still shattered the log, it didn't shatter as quickly as Naruto's did, so I therefore have to give you 2nd out of 30."

Pleased with her result, she went back to Naruto and hugged him. He smiled at her before whispering in her ear.

"Good job, Yukiko-Chan."

Iruka then decided to move onto the next test.

"Ok students, the next test is going to be the technique test... Naruto, you look fairly confident, why don't you-"

"Go first? With pleasure, Iruka-Sensei."

Iruka just stood there wide eyed and so did everyone else apart from Yukiko who just smiled. Naruto had dissapeared from infront of Iruka to behind him in a streak of yellow light. Ino was the first one to awaken from her stupor.

"That... that was... the Yondaime's..."

"That's right, Yamanako-San. That was the Yondaime's trademark technique, Hiraishin no jutsu. Just remember people, the 'Yellow Flash' may be long dead, but his legacy, the 'Yellow Hurricane' lives on. That was my first technique. I trust it was good, Iruka-Sensei?"

"Uh... Yes, Naruto. Perfectly executed. Continue with your second technique please?"

Naruto just smirked and bit his thumb, drawing blood. None of the students knew what kind of technique required blood, but Iruka knew.

"Naruto! You... You know how to-"

"Shhh! Don't spoil it for the children, Iruka-Sensei."

Iruka just nodded and let Naruto continue.

"Dog, Dragon, Horse, Serpent, Boar. KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

Naruto slammed his hand on the ground and everyone watched in amazement as intricate circles of Kanji spread out from his hand before being surrounded by a large amount of smoke. Once it cleared, people had to pick their mouths up off the ground. This was the all famous dead last? When did he learn to summon Kitsunes, and 6 tailed black ones at that?

"**Naruto-Sama! May I ask why I have been summoned here?"**

"I need to pass the Academy Genin exam, and one of the tests requires me to use two techniques of my choice."

"**One of them was obviously Kuchiyose No Jutsu. What was the other one if you don't mind me asking?"**

"Heh, none other than the Hiraishin no jutsu, of course!"

"**Hmmmm, your father's signature move, huh? Well, I suppose I've surved my purpose here I suppose. Anything else you need, Naruto-Sama?"**

"Nah, I'm good. Catch you later, neh?"

"**Later Naruto-Sama! It was good meeting you! Ja ne!"**

And with that, the Kitsune poofed out of existence from under Naruto, as Naruto landed gracefully on the ground.

"Still think I'm dead last?"

By this time, people were starting to rapidly change their perspectives of Naruto. Either this was an imposter who had taken over Naruto's life, or he really did get this good!

"Iruka-Sensei? How'd I do?"

"Top of the class again, Naruto."

"Heh. As expected. Yukiko-Chan, why don't you go next?"

Yukiko smiled at Naruto's confidence in her. She nodded before turning to Iruka for confirmation. Iruka just smiled and motioned her to go forward. Yukiko stepped forward. She realised she needed a demonstraitor for this.

"Um, Iruka-Sensei. I need a volunteer for this technique..."

Iruka looked up at her and then pointed at Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke? If you would be so kind?"

Sasuke smirked and stood infront of Yukiko with a look of boredom on his face.

"Hurry up, this is getting boring."

"Heh, let's see if you say that after this technique."

Yukiko flew through some hand seals before anouncing her technique.

"Mokudon: Jyukai Koudan!"

Suddenly, roots began to surge from the ground, winding their way quickly around the courtyard. Sasuke stared fish-eyed at the technique before he realised that the roots were making his way to him. He realised this far too late, however and the roots tangled themselves around his arms and legs, pinning him in place. Yukiko smirked at the number 1 cocky ninja.

"Boring is it? Would you still say the same, Uchiha?"

Iruka was now in total shock. That technique was a Wood Type technique! The last person to use that type of technique was...

"This was a technique that was used only by the first Hokage. I'm the second person in the world to use a wood type technique. Learn to be careful what you wish for, Uchiha."

Sasuke could not believe this. Not only had this new girl totally outclassed him, but the dunce of the class had done it too! He just glared at them both before relaxing.

"Kai!"

With that, the technique began to undo itself, releasing Sasuke from it's hold.

Iruka managed to awaken from his stupor.

"what will your other technique be?"

Yukiko smiled and bit her thumb. People now knew what was coming. Everyone stepped back.

"Monkey, Ox, Tiger, Hare and Bird. KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

When Yukiko slammed her hand on the ground, Kanji spread out from her hand before a huge puff of smoke appeared. When it cleared, they saw a jet black two tailed cat who was staring at them inquisitvely, almost deciding whether or not to eat them before taking a snooze.

"**Greetings, kitten. You are Yakushi Yukiko, correct?"**

"Hai!"

"**No wonder the cats are so loud this morning. I never expected the summoner to be this exquisit. Please state your purpose for summoning me."**

Yukiko blushed at the compliment. She then shook her head and responded.

"As with Naruto-Kun, I needed to use two techniques of my choice to pass one of the three tests. One of them was Kuchiyose No Jutsu, the other was Mokudon: Jyukai Koudan."

The cat's eyes shot open in suprise.

"**A WOOD ELEMENT USER! My god, wait till the others hear about this! I assume I have served my purpose, Yukiko?"**

"Hai. You can leave now. Arigato"

"**No worries dear. Anyways, I'm off to share the goss with the other ladies. Until next time kitten! Ja ne!"**

The cat dissapeared in a poof of smoke. Yukiko turned to the others and smirked at the dumbfounded class. She then looked up at Iruka for her result.

"I'm beond impressed with both you and Naruto. Both your techniques are at least special Jounin level techniques, if not Kage level techniques. I really don't know how you two do it... Anyways, I can't just put you in second after that display, but I can't move Naruto down either, as his display was equally impressive. I guess I'll just have to give you both equal first place."

Naruto and Yukiko turned to each other and hugged and gave each other a quick kiss. When both of them realised the whole class is watching, they both blushed heavily. They then took their place at the back of the class and watched lazily as the others did some half baked techniques. Finally, the last of the students had performed their techniques, and Iruka moved onto the deciding test.

"The last test is the Bunshin test. Would anyone like to volunteer to go first?"

Naruto's hand shot up and he walked forward. Iruke rolled his eyes and knew what he was instore for.

"Alright, Uzumaki Naruto. Go when ready."

Naruto snickered and did a small amount of meditation.

Everyone knew this was Naruto's worst technique. Everyone knew he was going to fail, and so they held in their laughter, waiting for the half arsed clone to appear.

Naruto began to gather a massive amount of chakra around him.

"Tayjuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

People looked on in horror. Not only Kage Bunshin, but TAYJUU Kage Bunshin? Suddenly, there was a huge wall of smoke, and people waited for it to clear, hoping to see the half arsed clones. What they saw shocked them beond belief. People started counting before the Naruto Clones just laughed.

"You'll be there for a long time if you try to count. There's exactlty 100 of us."

Iruka just smiled at his student. Naruto sure knew how to impress, didn't he?

Before he dicided to dispell his clones, one of the Narutos caught Yukiko's eyes and nodded.

"Iruka-Sensei? May I go next?"

Iruka just smiled and gave a nod. Yukiko once again stepped forwar before forming the same seal that Naruto had and focusing an equally large amount of chakra as Naruto had.

"Tayjuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

People thought this day couldn't possibly get much wierder. Both of these two had performed exceptionally well, and everyone else's displays just didn't stand up to theirs. Another huge cloud appeared over the Naruto clones, and when the cloud disperesed, there on the back of each and every Naruto clone was a Yukiko clone.

Iruka just sighed again. He knew these two were destined for great things. Marking them on his paper, he pointed to a table with the leaf forhead protectors on them.

"You two both pass the exam. Grab a forhead protector each and hang around ok? Good job you two."

The Naruto and Yukiko clones smiled to themselves before they dispersed. Naruto and Yukiko smiled and looked through the forehead protectors. Naruto and Yukiko's hand both went for a particualr one that had long black cloth attached to the metal plate. When their hands touched, they blushed before giving each other a small, but none the less passionate kiss.

"It's yours, Yukiko-Chan. Take it."

"Arigato, Naruto-Kun"

Naruto then found an identical one and wrapped it around his forehead. Yukiko took hers and wrapped it around her neck.

Naruo and Yukiko decided to take a break while the others finished up, so they went to the nearest patch of grass and laid down next to each other. Naruto was the first to break the silence.

"You did great today, Yukiko-Chan."

Yukiko smiled and turned to Naruto.

"Arigato. You did as well, Naruto-Kun."

They both just stared into each others eyes. Time seemed to phaze out for them until they realised that the last student had picked up his forehead protector and everyone else had gone inside.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan. Let's go inside."

"Ok, Naruto-Kun."

They gave each other a quick kiss before Naruto got up and offered his hand to her. Gratefully, she accpeted it and they went back inside. When they both took their seats. Iruka came back into the classroom and smiled at the students.

"Congratulations on passing the exam! From now on, your career as a shinobi of the leaf start. You will be placed in many dangerous positions, where you must make life and death choices. Remember what it means to be a shinobi of the leaf. I will now announce the formation of the teams. Be warned, due to an uneven number of students this year, one team will have 4 students instead of the regular 3: Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto."

With that, said student's name shot to attention.

"Yakushi Yukiko."

"YATTA!"

Iruka stopped for a moment as he saw the two hugging and looking at each other with what he instantly recognised as love. After a while, he pushed on.

"Haruno Sakura."

Naruto and Yukiko's mood dropped considerably.

"And Uchiha Sasuke."

Yukiko realised something was amiss. Their team was not only larger than everyone elses, they had the 4 most powerful people in the class on their team."

"Iruka-Sensei! Aren't the teams supposed to be equally ballenced? This is anything but ballenced! We have not only more people on our team, but we have the four strongest ones at that! If the teams are supposed to be ballenced, then why not divide our team by half? Partner training has been proven to be more effective than a 3 or ever 4 man cell!"

Everyone looked on in shock. They hated to admit it, but Yukiko had a very good point. In an unprecidented move, Nara Shikamaru decided to speak up.

"Iruka-Sensei, Yukiko has a very valid point. That team is nothing but an unstoppable force of pure power. What made you decide to put the 4 best students on the same team?"

Iruka sighed. They'd caught on quicker than he hoped they would. But then again, they were his students after all, right?

"You're right. Unfortunately, due to the lack of available special Jounin instructors, I had no choice. I thought long and hard as I put people on different teams. I also realised that each of them had special tallents that complemented each other perfectly. For example, Naruto is a good all rounder, specialising in speed. Sakura has almost perfect chakra control and is a very skilled support giver. Sasuke is a power type with above average intelligence, and Yukiko would do well as the battle command giver and healer. I'm sorry if you think this is unfair, but to tell you the truth, the placement for Team 7 was completely out of my hands. Hokage-Sama himself decided it."

People gave in. What Iruka said made sense, and if the Hokage himself decided it, there was nothing they could do. Iruka sighed and pushed on.

"Team 7, you will meet your your Jounin instructor in room 12 tomorrow morning at 7am. His name is Hatake Kakashi-"

Yukiko immediately interruped again.

"HATAKE KAKASHI! The great copy ninja Kakashi! I thought he was the captain of ANBU!"

People stared at Yukiko once again. Hatake Kakashi? Was he really that great? If she seemed to think he was good, then he must be. Iruka was getting more and more surprised by this girl's vast array of power and knowledge with each passing minute.

"Yes Yukiko, Hatake Kakashi. He retired from ANBU last year, and has decided to take on a team of Genins. Do you have any other questions before I continue?"

"No, gomen."

"No problem. Next Team..."

But Naruto and his newly decided Team 7 had long ago forgotten about Iruka. Now they were chatting amoungst themselves.

"So, the new Team 7, huh? This should be exciting! It's so cool that I get to be on a team with Yukiko-Chan!"

Yukiko blushed slightly at the open display of affection towards her. Sasuke, however was more than a little pissed off.

"Just don't get in my way, dead last."

Before anyone had a moment to respond, Naruto used Hiraishin no jutsu to appear behind Sasuke and held up his three edged obsidian kunai to his throat.

"You were saying, DEAD LAST?"

Sasuke hated to admit it, but he was completely outclassed. He slumped and gave up.

_'When did that dobe become so... so POWERFUL? I have to get back to training.'_

Iruka finished up their team designations and dismissed the class. With that, Sasuke got up and walked to the door. Sakura rushed to Sasuke's side and looked at him pleadingly.

"Neh, Sasuke-Kun, would you like me to walk you home?"

Sasuke just looked at her coldly before he turned away and continued walking responding with a single word.

"No."

Sakura deflated in defeat. She trudged out the door and made her way home. Everyone else followed suit and went outside to see their parents. Naruto and Yukiko were the last two out, and when they got outside, their high spirits immediately deflated. Parents were standing around, congratulating their kids on a job well done. As soon as the couple exitied the Academy, everyone stopped to stare at the pair. Both of them knew those stares only two well. Naruto came up with an idea. He turned to Yukiko, picked her up bridal style and gave a nod to everyone before he 'Yellow Flashed' past them all towards home. Everyone just stood there in shock.

"Did that runt just..."

"Wasn't that the..."

"Hiraishin no jutsu?"

They turned to the source of the voice and saw Naruto with Yukiko in his arms standing on top of a nearby wall.

"Yeah that was the Hiraishin no jutsu. And if you're wondering how I learnt it, it's said that only family members can learn that technique. Think about what that means long and hard before you give me those looks again, got it?"

They just looked at him dumbfounded. This demon brat was claiming to be the Yondaime's Son? Naruto suddenly gave of a wave of rather large killer intent which caused the croud to step back slightly.

"Once a discriminator, always a discriminator. You people sicken me. I'm getting out of here before I have to stare at your ugly mugs for another few seconds."

And with that, Naruto 'Yellow Flashed' off the wall towards his home on Teal Drive, leaving the croud totally and utterly speachless.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Another chapter done! I somehow managed to get everything I promised into this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it. Oh and if you'r wondering why I gave Naruto all those techniques, it's because I HATED when those tardbabies doubted Naruto's abilites. Also, Naruto won't be getting much stronger until he meets Ero-Sennin, that's why I made him so strong so early in the story. Don't worry, when he gets to the tree climbing exercise, you'll see he still has horrid chakra control. The reson he was able to summon such a big Kitsune and use Hiraishin no jutsu was that he pumped about 10 times as much chakra into it as he really needed to. Next chapter you'll also see just how much that exam had taken out of him. Basically, I just wanted them to taste his dirt so to speak. I'd also appreciate it if you could give me the real set of hand seals for the summoning technique. Thanks to those who corrected me on the Romaji name for the Hiraishin no jutsu, the proper name for the yellow flash technique. I've done an update and replaced yellow flash technique with its correct name. I think Naruto is plenty powerful enough as is, and I have to agree that I made him a little... TOO powerful. So I have plans for that box, and I'm going to make Kakashi practically ignore the two with justifiable reasons. As to the slight OOC? I think Naruto just realised how much everyone hates him, and he's just trying to prove who his father is. Anyways, as always R&R and vote please people! Until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	6. Teamwork

**A/N:** Greetings again my fellow readers! Time for another chapter. As stated in the AN at the end of chapter 5, yes I realise my mistake as to making Naruto and Yukiko WAAAAAAAY too powerful, so I'm going to try and compensate for that. Want to know how? Read on, because I'm not spoiling it for you! Also I agree that I developed their relation a little too fast, so I'm going to kind of level it out for a few chapters.

As always, I hope that my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Winner of Vote 1:

**(A):** Team 7 to the Snow: 2

Ok, since the next chapter is going to include Team 7's first big mission, It's decided! TO THE SNOW!

Second Vote:

**(A):** Kyubi Bloodline Limit: 2

**(B):** A Doujutsu (Eye ability) that allows the break down of both hand and carved seals to enable the formation of completely new and never before seen seals, and has 4 levels to it, each level gaining a new ability.: 2

(Personally, I'd have to agree with **MoOn-ShInE-LoRd **& **Achalon** on this one as it makes plenty of sense to Naruto's abilities and heratige, if you think about it. **MoOn-ShInE-LoRd **has given me the basic abilities of the bloodline limit. I'll come up with some sort of name for it too. Sticking with the Doujutsu tradition, I have to find a name that ends in 'gan', hmmmm this could take me a while. I unfortunately don't have any links to a good Romaji to anything translator, as they tend to give me pretty half baked results. If anyone can properly translate into Japanese, I'd love to hear from you. I've been meaning to find out the Romaji names for a few of my death type techniques that Yukiko knows as well.

**(C):** Other original Bloodline Limit: 0

Ok, basically it's tied at 2 all between A and B. I'm scrapping option C and have decided to incorperate both A & B into one bloodline. So, Naruto will have the Kyubi's abilities with a Doujutsu that has to do with hand seals and stuff.

Now get to the part that you've all been waiting for!

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 6:

Nani! Survival Training?

**Outside the front door of 67 Teal Drive:**

Naruto came to a stop outside his front door with Yukiko still in his arms. Blushing at each other, Naruto let Yukiko down and then fished the key out of his pocket. Just as he was about to put the key in the socket he noticed someone was behind them.

"Naruto."

Naruto knew the old man wouldn't come out here unless he'd screwed up majorly. He sighed and turned around.

"Yes old man?"

The Hokage looked none too pleased. He sighed before launching into his lecture.

"What did I say about the contents of that box?"

"That they weren't to be shown to anyone but you, Yukiko and myself. I didn't think you also meant I couldn't show of the techniques I learnt from the contents."

Naruto was kind of proud of himself for thinking he had outsmarted the Hokage. The Hokage just sighed and took another puff of his pipe.

"Naruto, do you have any idea of what I've had to deal with today because of your actions? What I got today was worse than when you painted the face of the Hokage Monument. People screamed at me non stop about how I could teach you such techniques. And how else was I supposed to tell them how you learnt it other than reveal the existance of the box? Did you even think about using the repucussions of those techniques before you used them? Naruto, I can understand that you want to grow up as fast as you can and become more like your father as soon as possible, but the village just won't accept it right now. You have to prove yourself through hard work that you're worthy of being his son. I've had no choice but to use one of your father's techniques to seal the box closed until you can figure out how to open it. By then, I think everyone will try to start accepting that you really are his son."

Naruto couldn't believe it! Those people wouldn't accept the fact that Yondaime was his father? The bastards! Naruto had had enough. He shoved the key into the socket and wrenched open the door before dragging a very appologetic looking Yukiko through the door and slamming it in the Hokage's face. The Hokage just sighed and made his way back to the office to face the crouds that had no doubt began to grow to monsterous proportions outside his office.

Inside the house however, Naruto was very very upset. He began putting his mind into high speed thinking of all the pranks he could pull on the villagers. Yukiko saw the look of deep thinking on his face and started to worry.

"Naruto-Kun? What are you thinking about?"

Naruto looked up at his beautiful girlfriend and gave a smirk before replying.

"Thinking of all the pranks I could pull on those damn villagers. Maybe I could rig the wall between the men and women's bath houses so that I could pull a string and the dividing wall would colapse-"

Yukiko had to admit. Naruto may not use his head all the time, but when he did use it, he came up with some very good ideas. However, she wasn't going to let Naruto get into any further trouble. Using a method she knew by now calmed him down, she smiled a little seductively and whispered in his ear.

"If I gave you a kiss, would you forget about pulling pranks?"

Naruto hadn't expected such a... Forward way of dealing with his behaviour. None the less, it was a good incentive. He slumped his shoulders in defeat and smiled.

"You really know how to push all the right buttons, don't you, Yukiko-Chan?"

Yukiko smiled at her little victory before leaning in for a long passionate kiss. She put one arm around Naruto's head and the other around his upper back. Getting the hint, he slid his arms around her waist and they lost themselves in the moment. After about 3 minutes (New record! WOOT!), they slowly pulled away gasping for air. Naruto should have recovered quickly, but he realised that something was wrong.

_**'You finally realised it, eh kit? Yup, you've got severe chakra depletion. You even used my chakra for that damn summon! You really need to learn how to control chakra better. Right now, you're wasteing about 10 times as much chakra as you need for every technique you use. Go and get some rest, kit. We've got to meet the instructor tomorrow morning.'**_

Naruto gave a mental nod before he cupped Yukiko's face in one had. She snuggled her head in his hand, before looking at Naruto, who was actually breathing harder than when they had first broken the kiss.

"Naruto-Kun? You don't look too good. Your chakra levels are very very low. You should probably get to bed-"

Just as Yukiko said that, Naruto collapsed. He'd reached his limit, and passed it. She smiled at him, before picking him up and taking him to the bedroom. When she opened the door, she saw what the Hokage said was true. All the scrolls, parchment and objects had been put back into the box and she noticed a very unusual seal on the box, one she had never seen or heard of before. She gave a sad smile before placing Naruto on the bed. She just stared and smiled at how peaceful he looked.

_'he's so cute like that. Makes me just want to...'_

_**'Sleep with him?'**_

Yukiko immediately turned redder than a tomato.

_'Sleep with him? It's a bit early in our relationship to be making love isn't it?'_

_**'When did I say anything about mating? You can sleep in the same bed as someone without making love to them you know.'**_

Yukiko conceeded that point. She'd also reached her limit too. Using Mokudon: Jyukai Koudan alone had drained her of over ¾ of her chakra. If she was going to use that technique, she had to use it VERY carefully, as it was a one time use technique with her current chakra reserves. Nibi suddenly broke her line of thought.

_**'Go on. Get into bed next to him. We have to meet Kakashi in the morning.'**_

Nodding, she laid down next to Naruto and put her head on his chest listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart. She fell asleep to that sound, and they slept through the afternoon and night.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The Next Morning:**

Naruto was the first awake. He sighed and tried to strech, but then realised his body was restricted. He was about to begin thrashing round when he was calmed by his tenant.

_**'Oi, kit. Bad idea. Open your eyes and take a look at what's pinning you down.'**_

Complying, Naruto slowly opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light coming through his windows. What he saw completely freaked him out. Lying on his chest was Yukiko, who was sleeping soundly.

_'Oh my god! WE SLEPT TOGETHER? I'm not ready to have kids yet! I'm too young to be a father! I'm-'_

The kyubi had enough of this crap and decided shut him up.

_**'SHUT IT BRAT. No you didn't mate with her last night. You just slept in the same bed. Notice both of you are still wearing your clothes. You're both still virgins. So shut up and go and make some breakfast for you two or something.'**_

Naruto calmed visably, but his little outburst had still woken up his girlfriend. She looked at him with he sleepy eyes and smiled before kissing him.

"Morning, Naruto-Kun."

"Morning, Yukiko-Chan. Sleep well?"

"I had the best sleep ever. Listening to your heart was oddly relaxing."

Naruto smiled sheepishly before deciding to get out of bed. Yukiko pouted at the loss, and Naruto completely fell for it. He got back onto the bed and gave her a hug.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, why don't you take a shower first and then go make some breakfast? I'll go see what I can do about that box while you have a shower, then when you get out, I'll take one, ok?"

"Sounds good to me."

With one final kiss, Yukiko walked into the bathroom and started her shower. Naruto had been watching her hips while she walked, half arsed perverted thoughs going through his mind all the while.

_**'Let's go look at that box, shall we?'**_

Naruto sighed and walked over to the box and lifted it off the desk and put it on the floor, sitting next to it. He held the box at every angle until he found the seal.

_'What do you make of it? I've never seen anything like this before...'_

_**'Not surprised kit. That's a damn complex seal, considering a human made it. I'll give the creator credit. That seal's on par with basic demon seals, although it's composition is radically different. It seems as though it requires some sort of unique series of hand seals to disenguage it... You have no clue as to what I'm talking about, do you kit?'**_

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head.

_'Nope! Heh heh heh...'_

The king of the kitsunes sighed and decided to put it in terms this kit could understand.

_**'Basically, it seems like the key to opening that seal is a combination of hand seals. With me so far?'**_

_'Uh huh.'_

_**'However, the hand seals needed to open it are not your average hand seals. From the looks of things, the combination is comprised of about... 7 or so completely unique hand seals.'**_

_'EEEEEH? What the hell kind of a seal is that? Did the old man just expect me to pull hand seals out of my-'_

_**'No. Infact, I think I remember seeing a seal like this once amongst the basic demon seals. Let me try something. I'm going to take control of your body to do these hand seals then release control, ok?'**_

Naruto didn't like this, but he reluctantly agreed. Hell, losing control of his body for a few seconds to get access to his father's treasuretrove of secrets? More than worth it! He gave up control of his body to Kyubi who searched his memory for the hand seals that he thought would activate this seal.

_**'Let's see... Ok, I've confirmed there is either 7 or 8 seals needed to open it. I'm going to try now.'**_

Naruto's hands formed some very strange and unheard of hand seals. He went through them slowly. As he activated the first one, the seal on the box activated. It appeared to be comprised of a large yellow circle with runes around the inside edge of it. At equal distances around the circumfrence of the circle, there were 6 smaller circles. Inside each of the smaller circles was pitch black. As Kyubi controlled Naruto did the second seal, one of the small circles changed from black to green. At the third hand seal, the circle to the left of it also changed from black to green. The fouth hand seal produced the same result. When they got the the fifth seal, however, the light did not go green, it changed to red. Suddenly, all the circles turned red and the red light ran down the lines leading from each circle to the middle of the main circle, which began to fill with red.

_**'Kit, I don't like this one bit. Get out of here. NOW!'**_

Without the need to be told twice, Naruto jumped out the door and slamed the door closed. The second he did that, he felt a rather large pulse of chakra go off inside the room. He also saw a blinding white light eminating from the room. After several seconds, the light died down, and Naruto slowly opened the door just enough to take a quick peek to make sure everything was fine.

_**'Kit, I'll hand it to your old man right now. That was a damn powerful seal. If we had still been in that room when that flash went off, I don't think we'd be still be alive.'**_

At this point, Yukiko burst out of the bathroom wearing only a town to cover her bare essentials.

"What was that?"

Naruto turned to her and started blushing profusely. He'd NEVER seen this much of his girlfriend before.

"Yukiko started blushing as well, but she was more interested about finding what that flash of light was.

"Naruto-Kun, did you try and disengage the seal?"

Naruto gave his trademark foxy grin and scratched the back of his head.

"Yup!"

Yukiko smiled. He reall wanted to get at the contents of that box, didn't he?

"Was the seal powerful?"

"Yeah it was! It requires seven non human hand seals to open it. I managed to get the first four with Kyubi's help, but the fifth one was wrong and that's what set off the seal."

Yukiko gave Naruto a confused look.

_'Unique hand seals? What on earth does he mean by that?'_

_**'He means that he had to use hand seals other than the 12 ones humans have created for everyday use. Demons for example have their own set of hand seals depending on which part of the underworld they originate from. It seems that four of the Kitsune's demon hand seals are the first four needed to open it.'**_

"Naruto-Kun, go and take a shower alright? I'll have a look at the box. Maybe we might be able to find at least some of the remaining three or so hand seals needed."

Naruto gave a huge smile for Yukiko. She really was a nice person, unlike the rest of the damn village.

"Ok, See you in a bit Yukiko-Chan. Good luck!"

"Thank you Naruto-Kun."

With that, Naruto strode into the bathroon and stripped off before beginning his shower. Yukiko on the other hand turned back to the box.

_'What do you make of it, Nibi?'_

_**'This is a very complex seal. Whoever made it was obviously a master at seals. Let me poke at it a bit.'**_

Nibi extended a tendril of her green chakra to touch the seal. What she found surprised her.

_**'Hmm, it seems that this seal was made of a mixture of Kitsune and Cat handseals.'**_

_'Does that mean!'_

_**'Yes, I should be able to open up the rest of them. However, I need Naruto to do the first 4 seals. I may be the queen of the cats, but Kitsune hand seals are a highly prized secret kept amongst the Kitsunes. We'll have to wait for them to finish. As for now, let's take the box downstairs and start making breakfast, ok?'**_

_'Gotcha. Thanks, Nibi.'_

_**'Don't mention it kitten.'**_

A few minutes later, Naruto stepped out of the shower fully refreshed and wearing a pair of clean clothes. He looked around the room to find not only Yukiko missing, but the box as well. Naruto then picked up a rather enticing scent that came from downstairs. Lifting his head, he took a series of sniffs of the air.

_'Wow, that smells good! And it's not Ramen!'_

_**'Why don't you go find out what it is then kit.'**_

Naruto bounded down the stairs two at a time and got into the kitchen to find Yukiko preparing a full breakfast.

"Wow, Yukiko-Chan! I didn't know you could cook!"

"Well, you never asked me did you? Anyways, take a seat and eat. I have some hopefully good news."

Naruto grew wide eyed and sat at the kitchen bench. Yukiko then picked up two two plates and put one infront of Naruto, and the other infront of herself. Naruto picked out a piece of bacon and took a tenative bite, before opening his eyes wide.

"Wow this is really good! Maybe even better than ramen! You really are a good cook, Yukiko-Chan!"

Yukiko smiled and blushed slightly at the comment.

"Thank you Naruto-Kun. I'd be happy to make you food any time."

"Really? Awesome! Neh, could you possibly make me some lunch as well?"

"I've already made lunch for both of us. It's packed into our packs which are next to the front door."

Naruto whistled. He was never this organised. Not even remotely close.

"You're really well organised, Yukiko-Chan! You're organised enough for both of us!"

Yukiko's blush deepened, before she lent over and kissed Naruto on the cheek.

"Arigato, Naruto-Kun."

The two of them ate in a comfortable silence. Naruto was anxious to hear what this 'good news' was. Finally after Naruto and Yukiko had finished their bacon and eggs, with a bowl of ceral and a glass of fruit juice, Naruto turned to Yukiko and looked at her with nothing but pure love in his eyes.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, I didn't think that that would be enough to fill me up, but it was! I'm completely stuffed! What's your secret?"

Yukiko smiled and turned to Naruto.

"There really is no secret, Naruto-Kun. It's just a fact that the majoriy of ramen doesn't fill you up very much because it lacks a lot of nutrience, so that's why you're able to eat a lot of it. Healthy food on the other hand, gives you ample amount of nutrience, and if cooked well, not only tastes good, but fills you up as well."

Naruto just smiled.

_'Is this what you call a mother's touch?'_

_**'Probably kit. Just be thankful you have such a caring woman in your life.'**_

_'Yeah, good point.'_

Remembering the 'good news', Naruto decided to ask.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, what's the good news?"

Yukiko smiled and responded in just over a whisper.

"I think I may be able to open the final 3 seals on the box."

Naruto went fish-eyed. Slowly, he started trying to suppress the pure joy that was about to come bursting out in the form of a lot of very loud shouting. He was stopped however, as his lips were sealed with a kiss. Naruto let out a muffled 'umph' before he relaxed and enjoyed it. Slowly, Yukiko pulled back with a warm smile on her face. She pointed to the box.

"I may be able to open the last three seals, but I can't even do them unless you first activate the entire seal then do the next 3. So why don't you activate the first four seals, then I'll do the last 3, ok?"

Naruto laughed and hugged her.

"Thank you so much for this, Yukiko-Chan. I really appreciate it."

"My pleasure, Naruto-Kun. Now, tell me when you're ready, and I'll prepare for my part."

Naruto closed his eyes and focused, letting Kyunbi take over his body again. He carefully activated the seal, then went through the first 4 seals. He then turned to Yukiko, and signalled her to go. The Nibi controlled Yukiko very slowly and carefully went through the first of her hand seals. The 5th light turned green. The next hand seal produced the same result. They looked at each other, and nodded. Yukiko slowly did the last hand seal, and the last light turned green. They dropped their focus and began to celebrate. Shortly after they let their concerntraition slip, the lights suddenly turned red, which both Biju's noticed and screamed at their containers to get out of the room. They dived out of the kitchen and hid under the stairwell. A bright flash of white light appeared, which blinded them for several moments. When the light faded, they slowly crawled from under their hiding space and peeped around the corner. They sighed. There was the box, with seal still intact. They were downtrodden. They had tried so hard and they had come so close, only to find out that they had failed.

_'Oi, Kyubi. Didn't you say there was only 7 seals needed?'_

_**'I said 7 OR 8. It seems that there's one final one. Sorry kit, I know how much you want to get into that box, but there's nothing we can do about it at the moment. Let's just drop it and go meet this instructor, ok?'**_

Naruto did something that few saw him do. He gave in. If only temporarily. He'd open that box, that's for sure. He then heard sniffing from next to him. He turned to her and noticed Yukiko was crying.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, what's wrong?"

"Im... I'm sorry, Naruto-Kun... I failed to open the box. I know how much that box means to you. I'm.. I'm so sorry..."

Naruto was dumbfounded. She actually took it that seriously?

_**'Oi kit. Show her what a concerned boyfriend you are. She needs it right now.'**_

"Yukiko-Chan, it doesn't matter. Knowing that there's one more seal I need to open that box makes me happier, not sadder. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be stuck on the 4th seal permanetly. Without you, that box is not openeing. PERIOD. So don't feel so down about it, ok?"

With that he held her cheeck in his had and kissed her forehead. Yukiko really loved when he did that. She stopped her crying and just held Naruto in her arms. Naruto pulled back slightly and looked into those violet eyes he had come to know and love.

"Yukiko-Chan, we have to go see Kakashi. We still have about half an hour, so let's get going, ok?"

Yukiko just smiled and kissed Naruto before getting up.

"Ok. Let's go, Naruto-Kun."

With that, the young couple picked up their packs and walked out the door.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**6:55am, Room 12 at the Academy:**

Sakura and Sasuke were already seated in the room and had been so for a good half an hour. They were wondering when the other two would show up. Sakura turned to Sasuke and hoped to start up a conversation.

"Neh, Sasuke-Kun, what do you think our Jounin instructor is going to be like?"

Sasuke turned to Sakura. He'd actually been thinking along those exact same lines, although he didn't let it show.

"Frankly, I don't care. As long as he's good."

With that, Sasuke turned and continued staring out the window. Sakura saw that the conversation was over, and started thinking of ways to occupy themselves until their instructor arrived. Just then, Naruto and Yukiko entered the room. Both of them were dressed in the same clothes as they were yesterday. Naruto turned and glared at Sasuke who returned the favour, electricity could be seen sparking between their eyes. Both girls groaned, and Yukiko decided to break up the silent fight by standing infront of Naruto and kissing him. That was all the incentive Naruto needed. Sasuke just turned and gave his 'cool pout' and continued staring out the window. Naruto turned to Sakura and smiled as well as scratching the back of his head.

"Neh, Sakura-Chan, sorry about yesterday. I was a little out of it."

This appology caught Sakura completely off guard. Naruto forgave her for belittling his father? Just like that? She was at a loss.

"No.. no problem, Naruto. I'm sorry about disrespecting your father, I just found it a little... hard to believe at first..."

"Eh, not suprising. I doubted it at first too until I saw the-"

Yukiko clapped her hand over his mouth. How could Naruto have been so foolish? Had he forgotten what the Hokage said just yesterday? She whispered in his ear just loud enough so only he could hear.

"Did you forget the reason for Hokage-Sama's visit yesterday?"

Naruto had indeed forgotten about it. He was thankful for Yukiko stopping what was about to come out of his mouth. He removed her hand and kissed her cheek.

"Arigato, Yukiko-Chan. I forgot. Gomen."

"No problem, Naruto-Kun. Make sure you don't do it again, ok?"

"Yup!"

Sakura just watched this whole exchange with intrest and curiosity. Was Naruto trying to deny the claims he had made yesterday? It seemed Naruto wasn't going to be forthcoming with answers, so she let it drop. Naruto then turned to Sasuke.

"Neh, Sasuke. Sorry about humiliating you infront of the class. I kinda just wanted to prove I'm not really as bad as everyone makes me out to be. If you can forgive me, I might be able to teach you some Jounin level techniques... Heh heh heh."

Sasuke whipped his head around and just stared at Naruto. '_Accept training from the dobe? You have to be kidding. Then again, he had completely outclassed him in each and every one of the Genin tests. This could prove to be useful.'_ Sasuke smiled. Not just one of his regular cocky smirks, but a smile that was just a little bit more genuine than his smirks.

"You're on."

Naruto smiled. He was on his was to making his first male friend his own age. With that settled and everyone in a good mood, they took their seats and began to wait. The four of them continued to wait. 7 am came and went. 8 am came and went. By now, the four student were thoughorly pissed off. Sakura was the first to let her feelings show.

"What kind of an instructor trys to make the first impression that he's completely unreliable?"

"I'd have to agree with Sakura-Chan on that one. Yukiko-Chan, are you sure he's good?"

"Well, In the hidden Village of Snow, everyone who was not from the village was considered sub-human. The one exception to that was Hatake Kakashi. During a coup that took place the year I was born, The insurgents who were fighting for a less opressive leader opted for outside help. They applied to all the villages but no one offered aid. Their last option was the Village of Konoha. They decided to send one of their most ruthless Jounins out. He was supposed to arrive on September 3rd to help with the final push to overthrow the current dictator, but he arrived on-"

"5th of Spetember. I'm surprised of your knowledge young lady."

They all wipped their heads to the direction of the door. Their before them was a very odd looking ninja. He had navy blue pants and long-sleeved shirt on, with a Jounin flak vest over the top. He had fingerless black gloves with metal plates on the backs of the gloves. But his face was just plain weird. He had his forehead protector covering his left eye, and he had a mask that covered the entire bottom part of his face and neck from his nose down. His hair looked like he'd used super glue to spike it up. His hair was silvery grey, and stood up in a shock leaning back and to the left. They stared in awe at their new teacher. Naruto was the first to wake up from his stupor and began a verbal assault on their instructor.

"What kind of an instructor comes to everything late? That doesn't give us a good impression you know!"

Sakura spoke up.

"Naruto's right! Do you even turn up for your mission assignments?"

Sasuke had had enough of the antics of his teacher and teammates and turned to stare out the window.

Yukiko just sighed.

"It seems that you still haven't lost your ledgendary punctuality problem, Kakashi-Sensei."

"Well, I got lost on the road known as life today..."

The four students just glared at him. What the hell kind of an excuse was that? Not only was he completely unreliable to turn up on time, but he came up with a half baked corny excuse like that? Kakahi turned to this girl. So she was the girl from the Snow? Interesting. Very interesting. She definitely knew a lot about him then.

"Well, my first impression of you 4 is..."

The four leaned in to hear what Kakashi's verdict was. Kakashi turned his face towards them and closed his visable eye in a smile.

"Anoying"

All of them facefaulted. They quickly recovered though as Kakashi started walking outside before calling to them.

"Yo! You guys coming?"

They all filed out of the door and followed their new Sensei.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Somewhere near the Academy:**

Kakashi stopped at a railing and motioned the four to take a seat on the steps leading down to the platform. He then turned to his new students and decided to kick things off.

"Alright guys, as you probably know, I'm your new sensei. I need to get to know you before we do anything as a team, so I want you all to tell me your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams."

They were quiet for a moment, unsure of how to start. Sakura was the first one to speak up.

"Neh, Sensei, why don't you go first so we understand what you mean?"

"Ok, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm not going to tell you my likes or dislikes for that matter. My hobbies... Well that's none of your business and as for my dream, I don't think you'd understand it."

With that they just stared at each other and began conversing.

"So, all we really confirmed was his name. We didn't find out anything about him..."

Kakashi decided to break up their little discussion by pointing to Naruto.

"Ok, you go first."

Naruto shot up, glad for some attention. He adjusted his forhead protector and began.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are ramen, Yukiko-Chan's cooking-" Said girl started blushing. "and ramen. My dislikes are the three minutes you have to wait for the water to boil for ramen and people who look down on others while placing themselves too high. My hobbies are training, hanging out with my girlfriend and generally getting stronger. My dream? My dream is to attain the title of Hokage so that everyone will be forced to recognise that I'm my father's son!"

Unfortunately, the words were out before Yukiko could slap a hand over his mouth. She groaned, knowing that their Sensei know was now privy to the secret as well. However, the reaction that Kakashi had was very different to what they expected.

"Your father you say? He wouldn't happen to be the Yondaime would he?"

Naruto brightened up considerably.

"Yup! Uzumaki Arashi! Did you know him?"

"Yes."

Naruto waited for the answer as to how Kakashi knew his father. No answer seemed forthcoming, so he pushed for one.

"Well, how did you know him?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

Naruto was very pissed off at this. He was claiming that he knew his father, yet he didn't have the decency to tell him where from? Naruto was just about to pry the answer from him when he pointed to Yukiko.

"You next."

"Oh. My name is Yakushi Yukiko. My likes are cooking healthy food that people will appreciate, my boyfriend and helping people. My dislikes are people who judge others by their first impressions, people who don't care about others and people that kill for fun. My hobbies are cooking, meditating and training. As for my dream... I want to replace Tsunade as the world's best medic and become the next female Sannin."

Kakashi looked at this girl in suprise. She was not only intelligent, had power over the earth and death elemental jutsus, but she was a medic as well? She was going to be one VERY powerful young woman. He quickly turned to the other girl in his team and pointed at her.

"Next."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are..." She gave a sideways glance at Sasuke. "my dislikes are.. Well, I don't know, maybe nothing... My hobbies are..." Again with a sidelong glance at Sasuke. "And my dream is..." People knew what to expect and groaned. Sure enough, there was the sideways glance at the object of her crush.

Kakashi thought to himself. She was one sick love puppy. He'd have to sort her out later on. Turning to the last of the four, he pointed to Sasuke.

"You next, Uchiha."

Sauke leaned his hands on his knees and interlaced his fingers infront of his mouth.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. My likes... Well there's not many, and I dislike a lot of things. For hobbies, I train. As for my dreams... I have to kill a certain man and revive my clan."

Naruto and Yukiko looked at him in pity and understanding. Sakura on the other hand thought this was awesome. Kakashi just sighed.

_'Another avenger... Great...'_

Kakashi just turned to the group and pulled 3 golden bells attached to red string out of his pocket.

"Ok boys and girls, listen up. You may have passed the Genin exam, but I need to know if you're still actually capeable of being ninja."

"EH! What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Why don't you be quiet and let me explain, blondie?"

Naruto just seethed at the comment, but decided it would be benificial to just shut it right now.

"Well, you may have passed the Genin exam, but that just showed you could use abilities. This test on the other hand, requires you to put those skills to use in a real life situation."

Kakashi snickered to himself like he was laughing at some personal joke. Sakura took the bait perfectly.

"What's so funny, Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Well, if I told you, you'd probably blanch."

"Try us."

"Well, this test has a 25 percent failure rate at the very least. All those who fail are sent straight back to the Academy to redo their training."

They all looked at Kakshi fish eyed and with 'O's for mouths. Kakashi just snickered again and smiled at his silent victory. He decided to give one final push.

"Oh and you better not eat anything for breakfast tomorrow. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise?"

"... You'll throw up."

Now they were scared witless, except for Yukiko, who had her brow furrowed showing she was deep in thought.

_'Where have I heard this before? Was it... That was it! I've taken this test before! This was the exact same test I took after graduating the Snow's Academy! The secret is teamwork! Score! Naruto-Kun and I will pass this test for sure!'_

Although she made this quiet revilation, she hid it from view. Kakashi then decided to wrap this up.

"Ok kiddies, thanks for coming. Meet at training ground seven at 5 am. Got it?"

"Later."

Sasuke began to walk home. Sakura ran up beside Sasuke and tried for the umpteenth time to go out on a date with him.

"Would you like to go out on a date with me, Sasuke-Kun?"

Sasuke just kept walking.

"No."

Sakura began to mope her way home. Yukiko on the other hand was feverently thinking up a plan. She grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him towards the other two.

"Neh, what's wrong Yukiko-Chan?"

"This test is not what you think it is, Naruto-Kun. We need to have a group meeting."

Naruto just gave Yukiko a confused look but accepted it none the less. They finally caught up to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Sakura-San! Saskuke-San! I really need to talk to both of you about the test tomorrow!"

Both of them turned to look at Yukiko. Sasuke spoke up first.

"What do you mean, Yukiko? What's there to talk about?"

"Trust me, this test is nothing like Kakshi-Sensei is making it out to be. We have to go somewhere quiet and discuss this."

All three of them had their doubts, but they decided that it wouldn't hurt to hear what she had to say.

"Where should we go then?"

"Well, I made Naruto-Kun and myself a rather large lunch... Perhaps a bit bigger than we can both manage. We could share our lunches and go to the park if you want."

"Sounds good to me."

"I'm in."

"So am I."

With that, they followed Yukiko to the park.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Konoha Park:**

Once they were there, they took a patch of grass and sat down. Naruto and Yukiko took out their lunches. Yukiko shared hers with Sakura and Naruto begrudgingly shared his with Sasuke. Once they took the first bite, Sakura and Sasuke opened their eyes a bit.

"This is really good, Yukiko-San!"

"Not bad."

The three of them stared at Sasuke when he made this statement. To people who didn't know him, they would have thought he was being rude. But to those who did know him, this was the closest thing to a compliment anyone was ever going to get from him. Yukiko smiled happily.

"Thank you. It's comments like that that make cooking worthwhile. However that's not what I came here to tell you."

They all leaned in to hear what she said next, as it was barely a whisper.

"This is exactly the same test I took when I graduated as a Genin of the Snow. EXACTLY the same test. We failed that test, because the point that test is trying to prove is that teamwork is the key to success. If we want to stand a chance of passing, we have to work together. There's no choice in that matter."

Sakura thought back and remembered that there had only been three bells.

"But Yukiko-San, there was only three bells! How is that teamwork if one of us has to take the fall and go back to the Academy?"

"You see, that's the crux of the test. The fact that there's only three bells puts you to the test to see if you can overcome your personal differences and work together as a team, despite the fact that one of you will fail."

"So, what do you propose we do?"

"Despite the way the test is set up, there are several ways for all four of us to pass. Remember when I said teamwork was the key? If one of us somehow occupies him while the other three grab a bell, he'll realise that the person occupying him voluntarily took the plunge for the sake of his or her teammates. If one of us did that, I'm pretty certain that he would pass us all. What we need to do now is come up with some sort of base stratergy that we can all work on. Are you with me?"

The other three nodded.

"Ok, I don't have a complete stratergy yet, but I've got the basis of one. Here's what I was thinking..."

Little did the four know, in a nearby tree, Kakashi was sitting watching the team intergrate. He hated to admit it, but he knew this team was going to be above the trash he's tested so far.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**5 am. Training Ground 7:**

Sasuke was already there when Naruto and Yukiko walked up to him, hand in hand.

"Morning, Sasuke-San."

"Hey, Sasuke."

If anyone was reading Sasuke's mind right now, they would have been shocked. Although these two were people that used to annoy him, he was starting to warm to them. At least Yukiko wasn't like those damn fan girls. She at least respected his wishes and helped him as well as giving him personal space. Naruto wasn't as considerate as Yukiko, but he was still offering him to teach him some Jounin level techniques. He however, didn't show it.

"Morning Yukiko. Naruto."

"Neh, Sasuke. Kakashi-Sensei's going to be late anyways, so why don't I start teaching you that technique I promised I would?"

Sasuke gave a smirk and got up.

"Sure thing."

For the next one and three quarter hours, Naruto was teaching Sasuke Kage Shuriken no Jutsu. He was a suprising natural at it. Finally, after Sasuke managed to make 6 copies of each shiruken, he was satisfied with his progress.

"Thanks for teaching me that, Naruto. If you want, tomorrow, I might teach you a fire jutsu."

"Eh? Really? Sweet! Thanks, Sasuke!"

Sasuke and Naruto just smiled at each other.

"I'm expecting you to be at least my equal Naruto. No more of this farting around like at the Academy. From here on out, there is only improvement."

"You can bet on it, Sasuke!"

Kakashi took this particular monet to appear infront of them.

"Yo! I was walking here and a black cat crossed my path..."

Both Sakura and Naruto yelled in unison.

"LIAR!"

Kakashi sighed. He picked out an alarm clock and set it on the tree stump next to him.

"Alright kiddies. I'll explain the rules. Rule One: This clock will go off at 12 noon. You have until then to get a bell from me and pass. Rule Two: Whoever doesn't get a bell not only will be sent back to the Academy, but they will be tied to that stump and be forced to watch the others eat lunch!"

This however did not have the impact Kakashi thought it would. He ignored them and continued on.

"If you want a bell, you have to come at me with the intent to kill. Any half arsed attempts will just make you look stupid. However..."

Kakashi then reached into his pocket and took out a little red book.

"I have a feeling I can finish this book today, as I'm not going to need to pay much attention to you four. Begin!"

Naruto had had enough of this cocky teacher.

_'Think we're trash, eh? Let's see what you think of us when I take that precious book of yours away!'_

"Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

With that, Naruto turned into a yellow blur and snatched the book out of Kakashi's hand. Naruto then pulled his leaf headband over his left eye and imitated Kakashi.

"I have a feeling I can finish this book today, as I'm not going to... have... to... EWWWWWWWW!"

The other three students looked at Naruto questioningly.

"Kakashi-Sensei's a pervert! He reads ecchi in public! GROSS!"

The other three looked disgusted. Kakashi on the other hand just looked amused.

"Kakashi-Sensei, I'm not giving this book back. I'm going to go find somewhere to burn it! That will teach you to read ecchi in public!"

Kakash suddenly got very very angry.

"No one threatens my book. I'm giving you to the count of 3 to return it. 1... 2-"

Naruto knew he was way up the creek without a paddle. In desperation, he indicated to his team mates with two fingers, and they understood immediately that they were scrapping the original plan and going straight for plan b. With that, Naruto used his trademark technique and flashed out of there. The other's took the hint and made themselves scarce. Kakashi stormed off in the direction Naruto had gone.

Kakshi could suddenly smell smoke.

_'Naruto wasn't kidding when he said he'd burn it! Shit! I have to get there in time!'_

Kakashi sprinted in the direction the small plume of smoke was coming from and ran to find Naruto had already thrown the book onto the fire.

"Too late, Kakashi-Sensei! Should have been quicker, eh?"

Kakashi dropped to his knees and roared.

"That book. Was a pre-release edition signed by the writer of the series himself. Do you realise how much it was worth?"

"Eh, I don't care. Have you learnt your lesson yet, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakshi had had enough of this little runt. He was about to get up when he realised that he was suddenly taken in a full nelson hold.

"Quick guys! Now!"

The three others rushed in and Kakashi knew he had to do something. Fast.

Suddenly, Kakashi was replaced by the original Naruto, and the others crashed into him. They quckly realised their mistake and formed up in a diamond, backs to each other, looking for their sensei with a kunai or shuriken in their hands.

Naruto bit his thumb and went through a set of hand seals, before summoning a very small, white one tailed Kitsune. Naruto bent down and whispered to the Kitsune, who sniffed the ground and ran off. They all flew off in their daimond formation in the direction the Kitsune had gone. Kakashi however, was not in the direction they had gone, but had left his Jounin flak jacket for them to follow. He stood calmly with his copy of Icha Icha Paradise that he had found, glad that Naruto had only used a henge on some inatimate object to fool him. Kakashi smiled to himself. Those kids were good. Very good. If they kept this up, he might just be forced to pass them. With that thought in mind, he jumped through the trees towards the group. When he next caught sight of the group, he knew they realised he had been tricked. As he was about to step out in the opening, he felt some very sharp objects attach themselves to his hands and legs. He looked down in horror. 2 small Kitsunes and 2 small cats were keeping his hands from forming hand seals and kept his legs from moving.

"Now Sasuke!"

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

With that, a huge fireball came rushing out from Kakashi's left. He know realised they had turned his trap into their own. He struggled and manage to throw both of the Kitsunes off his arms and began to form seals, but his hands were stopped when Yukiko grabbed one hand a used her chakra scalpel to cut one of the muscles in his hand, rendering it effectively useless.

"Now Sakura!"

Sakura then ran in and reached for the bells. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Sakura's hand was several milimeters away from a bell when the noon bell rang.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!"

"NO WAY!"

Sakura just fell to the ground, while Sasuke just let out a 'hmph', dispelling the fire technique.

The four ones that had been standing infront of Kakashi's jacket released their henge to reveal 3 Naruto Kage Bunshins and the original, who promptly disperesed themselves.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. He then motioned the four to follow him.

"Alright kiddies, to the poles."

He turned to Yukiko, who looked at him appologetically.

"I don't mind you using techniques to try and stop me, but did you have to use chakra scalpel?"

"Gomen, Kakashi-Sensei. I'll heal your hand now."

"Arigato."

When all four of them arrived at the stumps, they saw that there was now a fourth tray of food there.

Kakshi turned his back to them.

"Eat up you four."

The four of them were unsure of whether they should or not, but Kakshi motioned them to go ahead. However, Kakashi was still unsure about one thing.

"When I told you 4 that one of you would be tied to the stump and would have to watch the others eat, why didn't you show any signs of recognising why I had really asked you not to eat any breakfast?"

Yukiko answered for them.

"Well Kakshi-Sensei, There is a saying that is known in the world of ninjas. 'Those who don't listen to orders are trash, however those who don't take care of their friends are lower still.' When I saw that Naruto was trying to put on a brave face this morning to mask how hungry he was, I decided it would be better for him to have something to eat. I knew he wouldn't be able to perform at his best if he didn't, and I convinced him of it. We then took some of the breakfast I had made to Sakura-San's and Sasuke-San's house and told them the same thing. We may not have listened to your orders, but at least we showed concern for our friends."

Kakashi had confirmed it. These kids were something else. He sighed.

"I'm very impressed with your displays of teamwork. It seems that you understand the true meaning of this test. So I have no choice but to pass all four of you. Congratulations."

The four kids minus Sasuke jumped up and gave a rather loud "YATTA!". Sasuke just smiled.

"Starting tomorrow, Team 7 will commence missions. I want you all to report to the Hokage's office at 8am sharp. Good job team."

With that, Kakashi poofed out of existance. The four of them finished their lunches and then went off their separate ways.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** I hope I managed to even things out after last chapter. Also, Granite69, I got the name for the technique straight off I also went back to the anime and confirmed it. I also realised that they don't say "such and such Element: Insert jutsu name here" it's actually "such and such Type: Insert jutsu name here." If it was wood element: forest genisis, then you would be right. However thanks for making me look it up, I've been meaning to confirm that for a while now. Also, I'm going to try and incorparate a resized version of the first naruto movie into the next chapter for their mission to the snow. Anyways, until next time my avid readers!

Jan ne,

Specula.


	7. Return to the Snow

**A/N:** Welcome back for the next exciting installment! Firstly, I have some bad news. After watching the movie, I just couldn't find any way to condense the movie into something short enough to write here. I appologise to all those people who got their hopes up, but there's just no possible way to do it. I hope you can understand. On a lighter note, I got 20 reviews! WOOOOOOOOOT! Anyways, as per normal, I hope my creativity gives you some pleasure to read.

**MoOn-ShInE-LoRd**, I hope you don't mind me making one minor tweak to the level one stage, namely the understanding of seals, both hand and carved, and the ability to understand them when used in a technique that will let Naruto not exactly copy them, but put his own personal spin on some techniques? I plan on activating itnext chapter.

Also, I'd REALLY be thankful if someone could translate these two thingsinto Romaji: "Demon Mimicry Ninja Technique: Complete Body" and "Seal Eye"I knowthe first onewill roughly look something like 'Gijyuu Ninpou, Shikyaku no Jutsu', which means Beast Mimicry Ninja Technique: Four Legs, but I'm just unable to find a decent translator that gives anything REMOTELY like what I expect. Just as an example, I used a translator that will remain nameless, and typed in Mass Shadow Clone Technique in english, then translated it to Japanese, copy+pastedthe resultinto the exact same translator and translated it back. Know what the result was? 'Technology of Shadow of Many Clones.' That deserves a big WTF. So if anyone could be my official translator, or even better, tell me where to get hold of some translation software or even a sitethat lets me convert english either directly to Romaji or even into Japanese then to Romaji that gives results that actually make sense, then by all means please tell me. I will love you forever... Or something... Going back to the original translation request, I'm sure most of you recognise who that technique that I'm trying to modify slightly belongs too. And since Naruto's Doujutsu breaks down techniques, you can guess where that's going.

Also, I'm surprised that none of you have picked up on Yukiko's secret yet. It was hinted at in the first chapter, and has been blatantly given several times throughout other chapters. Tell you guys and girls what. Whoever can correctly guess Yukiko's secret before the first chapter of the Chunin Exams gets... Iono... A COOKIE! Why the first Chunin Exam? I'm not telling! That's give it away!

Also, I've tried to fit the snow mission into one chapter, but sorry guys, I'm only half way through it and I've hit the 21 page mark, I'm going to have to divide these chapters up. The first part will contain everything up to their first night in the Village of the Snow, the second part will contain all the good stuff, aka fighting and training.

Now for the part that you've all been waiting for!

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 7:

Return to the Snow:

**8:55 am. Outside the Hokage's Office 2 Days After the Survival Training:**

The four Genins of Team Seven had completed their first few missions yesterday and were quite frankly sick of these 'missions' they were doing. Hell, even non ninjas could do these! They'd just returned from retreiving one very angry cat by the name of Tora, who belonged to the feudal lady of the Fire Country. When they returned the cat to the woman, they were greeted with a rather bizzare spectacle.

"Oh Tora-Chan! I was so worried about you! Don't think about running away again ok?"

The Feudal Lady was giving Tora a giant bear hug and crushing the very distressed cat to her face. Naruto turned to the team and whispered so only they could hear.

"Heh, I'm not surprised Tora's run away if that's they way she get's treated."

The team had a quiet snicker to themselves as the Feudal Lady thanked the Hokage and Team 7 before walking out the door. Turning to recive their new assignment, The Hokage looked at the team before going over several documents deciding what missions would be suited to the team. He picked up a small stack of papers and began browsing through them before stopping on one particular one.

Ok Team Seven, your next assignment is: Babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village, and helping with the potato digging-"

"GAH! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY CONSIDER THESE 'MISSIONS'? Give us a real mission, one where we get to fight and stuff!"

Although everyone agreed with Naruto, they had a slightly more... Subtle idea of how to broach the subject.

"I have to agree, Hokage-Sama. These missions really aren't fit for ninja, even though we're Genin, a regular person is more than capeable of doing these jobs. It is not wise to squander a village's shinobi resources on such tasks when they could be much better used for something that is well and truly beond regular human capeabilities."

The Hokage sighed. Iruka on the other hand was outraged.

"How can you guys decline a job? All of us had to do grunt work to get off the ground! Don't think that just because you were the best four students to graduate the Academy in almost twenty years means that you're above this stuff!"

"It's alright, Iruka. What they say is both understanding and truthful."

"But Hokage-Sama..."

Iruka just gave in and went back to his work.

"So you think you're ready for a big mission then? Very well. Let me see what I have available..."

The Hokage shuffled through the stack of papers before coming to one that would definitely shut tuem up and put them in their place.

"Ah he we go. An A class mission. You are to go to the Village of the Snow and stop a resurgence to place the previous leader of the village in power again. He is protected by a gang of zelous thugs, and he must be stopped from regaining power, or the country of Ice (Sorry, I don't know the name of the Snow Village's country, so please correct me if I'm wrong.) will once again plunge into darkness."

Everyone just stopped and stared. A Class? For a group of Genin and a Jounin? Had the Hokage lost his mind? Iruka spoke up.

"Hokage-Sama, forgive the insolence but did you think this through when you gave them that mission? An A class mission for a group of Genin fresh out of the Academy and a Jounin? Hokage-Sama, please reconsider this-"

"Iruka."

Everyone turned to Kakashi who's voice was very low and threatening.

"Are you doubting the capeabilities of my team?"

"Of course I am!"

"Well don't. These kids nearly killed me during the survival training. They are all highly trained ninjas who won't lose to a group of second rate thugs. Got that?"

Iruka knew he was practically sending these four to their doom, but he had no say in the matter. He sighed and admitted defeat.

"Hokage-Sama, we accept this mission."

"Very well then Kakashi. Someone from the Snow has made their way here to guide you there. Would you please come in now?"

The group turned and watched as the door opened. A man entered, who was decked out in winter clothing. How on earth could a man wear those types of clothes in this heat? While they were pondering this, the man turned to face his protectors and gasped in shock at the famous silver haired ninja.

"Is... Is that you... Hatake Kakashi?"

Kakashi opened his eyes when he saw who it was.

"Hideaki-San? It's good to see you again!"

"Neh, you know him, Kakashi-Sensei?"

"You could say that. He was one of the insurgents I fought along side of during the Snow uprising."

"So, Kakashi, who are these fine four young people you have with you?"

"These are my subordinants. Starting from the left is Uchiha Sasuke, the last of his clan." Sasuke gave a little wave before Kakashi continued on. "To Sasuke's right is Haruno Sakura." Sakura gave a smile. "To her right is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head. "And to the furthest right is-"

"Yukiko-San!"

"Greeting, Hideki-San. It's good to see you again."

Naruto looked between the two with confusion.

"Oi, mister Hideaki, do you know Yukiko-Chan?"

"Yukiko-Chan? That's a very endeering name to call her. I'm glad she's found a friend."

"He's my boyfriend, Hideaki-San."

"A boyfriend? That's great! Naruto-San, was it?" Said person gave a nod. "Please take good care of her. She's had a very tough life. I won't tell you the story, as that's her business, but it's not pretty."

"Yeah, she told me about it already. I know her pain. I'm exactly like her. Even THAT."

The rest of the team apart from Yukiko and Kakashi stared in shock at the boy. Sakura and Sasuke were both wondering what 'that' was exactly. Before they returned to the conversation.

"I see Naruto-San. Life I'm guessing was tough for you too?" Naruto nodded sadly. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that. I'd love to stand around and chat, but unfortunately, the uprising is getting to fevor pitch and I'm afraid we don't have any time to waste. Could we please get moving?"

The team nodded and they walked out the door. Hideaki sidded up to Kakashi and whispered quietly to him.

"Sorry for doubting them, Kakashi-San, but are they... you know... any good?"

Kakashi smiled and turned to his charge.

"Put it this way. They work like they have a single mind, and they've even managed to bring me to the brink of death once."

Hideaki looked at Kakshi in shock. No one during the uprising had even laid a single scratch on Kakashi, yet these four had almost killed him? They were good, no doubt about that.

"I'm sorry for doubting your subordinates, Kakashi-San. It's just that they're still children, so I naturally doubted their abilities..."

"It would be best if you didn't. Keep this to yourself, but those four are the best four students out of the Academy in nearly twenty years. Not only that, the blonde one is the son of our Yondaime Hokage, who was my sensei. No one belives that fact though, so please keep quiet about it ok?"

Hideaki conceeded defeat. These four were more than enough to protect him and bring down the insurgents.

**&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the West Gate:**

All of the Genin were eager to get on their way, except for Yukiko. She REALLY didn't want to go back there, but they had no choice. Naruto turned to Hideaki and asked for directions.

"Neh, Hideaki-San, which way is it to the Snow Village and roughly how long will it take to get there?"

"Hmm, it's North, North-West of here, and travelling at a decent pace, it should take about 3 or so weeks."

"Shall we get going? If you would be so kind, Hideaki-San, our mission objective is to protect you, so would you please stand in the center of us? We need to be able to intercept an attack from all sides, after all."

"Hai."

With that, they formed up around their mission critical objective and began the three week trip to the snow country.

**&&&&&&&&&&&**

**3 Weeks later, at the entrance to the Village of the Snow:**

Finally after three long exhausting weeks, they'd finally reached the Village of the Snow. They were stopped at the gate by the guard, who looked over them supsiciously.

"State your names and reason for being here!"

"I'm Hideaki Yamamoto, and these are the five that Hiroshi-Sama had requested from the Village of Konoha."

"Understood, you may enter. A word of warning if I may."

"What is it?"

"The rebels aren't going to stay much quieter for long. We predict two or three days tops before the first revolt begins."

"Understood, thank you for the warning."

"No problem. Hiroshi-Sama is also expecting you. Please make your way swiftly to his mansion."

"Hai!"

"Open the gate!"

"Hai!"

With that, the gate creaked open just wide enough to allow the team and their charge through. Hideaki lead the way to the north of town where they could clearly see a rather large mansion situated on a hill.

"That's Hiroshi-Sama's mansion. Hiroshi-Sama is a very good leader. Ever since we managed to overthrow the last dictatorship and place him in power, not only the Village has stabilized and prospered, but so has the entire country. He lowered the ridiculously high taxes to something everyone could afford, took the power from the rich and gave it to the poor, the list goes on. He's the best thing that's ever happened to this country."

"He also tried to protect me from the villagers."

Everyone turned to Yukiko when she said that.

"Eh? The leader took care of you? I have to thank him."

"What do you mean by tried to protect you? What from?"

"Yukiko gave them a sad smile, and said a single word.

"Them."

They looked up and noticed that everyone had a look of pure and utter hatred on their faces, and it was all directed at Yukiko.

"Those... Those faces... That's the look that the people of Konoha... Give me..."

Everyone turned to Naruto as he said this. Hideaki looked at the pair in sympathy.

"Now you know what I mean by Yukiko-San has had a tough life. No one except for those that share the same problem would understand that pain..."

Naruto just took Yukiko's hand in his as they walked up to the front gate of the village leader's mansion.

The guard at the gate stepped infront of the gate, and glared at Yukiko.

"What is the meaning of bringing this... this MONSTER here, Hideaki? After she defiled the graveyard, you couldn't possibly expect me to let this witch through could you?"

Naruto had had it. He started growling, giving off a large wave of killer intent, causing everyone to step back. His canines elongated and his nails grew. His wisker marks widended and his hair became unruly. He suddenly opened his eyes and glared at the guard. What everyone saw instead of those normally peacefull cerulean eyes chilled them to the bone. His normal eyes were now blood red, with cat like slits for pupils.

"**I DARE you to repeat that. HUMAN."**

"The guard let out a cry and dropped on his butt, before pointing a finger at the boy.

"M-Monster!"

"**Wrong choice of words human."**

Naruto used his trademark technique Hiraishin no jutsu to get behind the guard and hold his claws up to the guard's neck. He poked the guard's neck with his claws, and drew a trickle of blood.

"**Normally, I'd kill you in one shot for saying even one of those things to my girlfriend. But I'm feeling nice today. I'm giving you to the count of three to appologise to both of us, starting now.**

**1...**

**2...'**

Just as Naruto was about to mention the final number and plunge his claws into the guard's neck, a booming voice came from just inside the gate.

"Stop this sensless violence at once!"

Naruto turned around and saw middle age man in what could only be describes as very regal robes. Hideaki noticed who the person was and immediately dropped to the floor.

"Hiroshi-Sama! Please forgive me for this commotion! I-"

"This was not your fault in the slightest, Hideaki."

"Hai, Hiroshi-Sama."

Hiroshi turned to the guard and gave him a very cold gaze.

"I happened to hear everything you called these two children. Appologise at once!"

"Gomen nasai!"

"I appologise for my guard's behaviour. Please come inside. As for you." He indicated the guard "Relieve yourself from duty and find a replacement guard. You will do 10 hours of community service for those despicable remarks."

"Hai! Hiroshi-Sama!"

Naruto calmed conciderably, and his features returned to normal. Everyone except for Yukiko was visably shaken. Yukiko on the other hand just hugged Naruto and gave him a kiss.

"Thank you for defending me, Naruto-Kun."

"No problem, Yukiko-Chan. I wasn't going to put up with any more of that crap against my girlfriend. I know you'd do the same for me."

"You know me too well."

They smiled at each other before walking hand in hand inside the mansion, followed at a safe distance by the rest of the team.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Inside Hiroshi's Mansion:**

The group now sat in what was obviously a meeting room. As the door opened, Hiroshi walked in and everyone bowed their head. Suprisingly even Naruto.

"Again, I appologise for my guard's appauling behaviour. Unfortunately, ever since that incident a few months ago, people have been like that towards Yukiko."

Hiroshi turned to Naruto.

"I'm sorry, but may I have your name please?"

"Hai! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Also, I have to thank you for taking care of my girlfriend before she came to Konoha."

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow.

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yukiko-Chan of course! Really, I am very thankful, Hiroshi-Sama."

Naruto bowed low and everyone from team 7 just stared again. Naruto never showed respect for authority when it was required. Why now?

"Yukiko's boyfriend? I'm glad she found someone. One request I have is that you keep her safe. From what I saw out the front there, I'd guess your situation is somewhat simmilar to hers?"

"That's right. It's the reason why my village shuns me."

Naruto looked down at the floor. Yukiko did as well. Sakura couldn't take it any more and wanted an explination.

"Naruto, what exactly was that physical change of appearance and that voice just before?"

Naruto sighed.

_'I guess I just have to tell everyone now...'_

_**'Hey kit. Think of it this way. If they're not your friends after this, they were never worth having as friends.'**_

_'Good point.'_

Naruto took a deep breath.

"You guys remember how the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyubi in battle right?"

Everyone nodded.

"That was all a big lie to cover up the truth."

Kakashi just looked sad, while Yukiko was looking into Naruto's eyes with nothing but understadning and sympathy. The others looked very facinated.

"Yondaime wasn't powerful enough to kill the Kyubi, so he did the next best thing. He sealed it using a seal he made himself called ShikiFuujin. It's a variation of the summoning technique, that makes the user sign a deal with the Death God. To use this technique, the Death God requires two soul sacrifices. The soul of the sealed, and the soul of the sealer. Both souls are forever condemned to be locked in combat in the stomach of the Death God. If Yondaime tried to seal it into an inadimate object, it was highly unlikely that the seal would hold. He thought about sealing it within an adult, but found that the influx of demonic chakra would most likely rupture the adult's chakra system and set the Kyubi free straight away. The only option he had was to seal it inside a newborn child, one who's chakra system had not had time to fully develop yet. The Yondaime's last wish was that this child would be viewed as a hero, a martyr who put up with the eternal torment of having a demon sealed inside him. What happened though, couldn't be further from the truth. The child was kicked, punched and treated like they were the spawn of satan. Their home and all their possesions were destroyed. Twice. To stop the older generation's corruption spreading to the child's generation, the Sandaime was forced to pass a law which forbade the discussion of the demon to everyone, especially the child themselves. The Yondaime needed a child, and he wouldn't dare ask for someone elses child, so he sealed the demon within his only son. Me."

With that, Naruto broke down crying, and Yukiko immediately rushed over to him and hugged him.

Sakura, Sasuke, Hideaki and Hiroshi just looked appauled that such a series of events could ever take place. Kakashi just looked distraught. Finally, Naruto stopped crying, and looked at Yukiko before giving her a kiss. Naruto turned to his team and just looked at them with a sad smile that barely hid a lifetime of nothing but pure suffering.

"So, now you know my darkest secret, huh?"

Sakura was the first to respond.

"Naruto... I'm... Sorry... I never realised that was what happened. I'm so sorry for treating you like I have these past years. Please forgive me."

With that, she hugged Naruto. Naruto slowly hugged her back. Sakura released him then turned to Sasuke, who was looking at Naruto with something like understanding.

"I know what you went though roughly. When I was seven, my brother murdered my entire clan by himself. He left me and only me alive, for what reason, I don't know. When I woke up after the ordeal, no one bothered to offer me any help to try and sort things out. I was just left alone. It seems that most of us are rather alike, eh Naruto?"

"Yukiko, would you like to tell them now, as to what happened?"

Yukiko just sighed and admitted it was probably the best thing to do.

"Just like Naruto, I have a Biju sealed inside me. Although it's not as extravagant as the king of demons which Naruto has sealed inside of him, my Biju is still very powerful. I have Nibi, the two tailed cat who is known as queen of the damned. Up until several months ago, I was completely oblivious of Nibi's existance. Then one night after I returned home from doing the grocery shopping, I began unpacking when I felt a sudden pulse of cold energy radiate out of my stomach through my whole body. I clutched my stomach, but the pain soon left. I got back to work when the pulse came back, stronger this time. It just kept coming until I fell unconcious from the pain. When I woke up, I was in a delapadated maze of corridors that were yellowed with age. I tried to ignore the pain and wake up from the dream, when I heard something that can only be described as a demonic version of a cat's hiss. I slowly got up and started searching for the origin of that noise, and I eventually found myself infront of a gaint cage. The only thing holding the cage closed was a slip of paper that spread across the edge of the doors. The slip of paper simply said 'seal'. What I saw then, no mortal was meant to see. A giant pair of glowing green eyes with yellow rims and cat like slits for puples and a mouth full of very sharp teeth appeard inside the cage. This is what I heard."

When Yukiko spoke again, everyone but Naruto flinched and was chilled to the bone.

"**Welcome little human. I have been waiting for you."**

Yukiko sobbed before continuing. Naruto just hugged her and patted her back.

"That face which I came to know as Nibi introduced herself, and said if I didn't believe she was real, to focus some chakra and look at my stomach. She said if I needed further proof, to go to the graveyard and concerntraite on her. I woke up and ignored the dream, and went to do my evening meditation. I focused some chakra, and this is what I saw."

Yukiko lifted her shirt slightly and focused some chakra. Slowly, a very elaborate seal appeared on her stomach. Yukiko continued sobbing and Naruto just smiled sadly before lifting his clothing to reveal his stomach and focused some chakra to show he had a very similar seal on his. Yukiko continued on.

"I then ran to the graveyard and thought about the cat I had seen in my dream. By now I was backed into my last little pocket of sanity. Again the cat responded, and I snapped. I competely and utterly lost it. I screamed the most inhuman scream you've ever heard. It reverberated through the village and woke everyone up who then came to the graveyard carying some sort of impliment that was intended to do harm, whether it was a makshift weapon or a real one, it didn't matter. They wanted to kill the demon. By this time, Nibi had begun to leak this green... Goo like chakra that surrounded my body. It didn't just surround my body, it lengthened my canines, turned my fingernails into claws, turned my eyes into emerald green with gold rimmed irises with cat like slits for pupils, and most shockingly, the green goo had taken on the form of a cat. Whatever part of my body the goo touched, I lost control of. When the goo had full control of my body, I realised I could see, hear and feel everything, but I just had no control over my actions. I saw the villagers taking steps towards me and I... I... I was forced to do a horrific technique that raised the dead from their graves. Nibi then sent the undead to hunt down the villagers while I escaped. I spent three weeks being chased by the survivng ninja all the way to the outskirts of Konoha, where I was saved by Naruto-Kun"

Naruto hugged Yukiko tightly and kissed her forehead. The others just stared. They were one group who had more than their fair share of hardships, weren't they. Sakura hugged Yukiko and Sasuke just gave them a sad smile. After Yukiko stopped crying, they turned back to Hiroshi. Hiroshi just smiled sadly.

"It seems that some people have far worse burdens than others. I am trully sorry to hear that you three have had such a hard life. If I can help ease the pain in any ways, please feel free to ask."

Everyone was silent for a moment beofre Kakashi decided to break the depressing mood.

"Thank you for your offer, Hiroshi-Sama. But I think we should probably be discussing why we were brought here."

"Ah, ever the ulitarian, Kakashi. Very well, I will fill you in on the situation. Due to the incident that Nibi forced Yukiko to do, the shinobi forces of the Village of the Snow suffered severe losses. Although I would never place the blame on Yukiko, the closed minded people of this village are unable to see how things really are. The leader of a group of thugs called the kuroi juuji gang started rallying support, crying for the 'downfall of the demon lovers' and other such nonsense. They naturally attracted a lot of attention, and their numbers soon started to surpass that of the shinobi that the Snow had. We received the exact figures 2 days ago, and we know they'regoing to make their move soon, we just don't know when. I formally request that you protect the people of this city. Please, defeat the head of the kuroi juuji gang and his most trusted ninja who is also his right hand man."

"Would you happen to have any information on the names of these two individuals? Or any other information that may help us identify and/or track them?"

"Hai, so far we only have their names and a very brief discription of both of them. Both of them are extremely adept at keeping their wareabouts and physical descriptions well hidden. This is everything we have managed to collect so far."

Hiroshi handed two pieces of paper to Kakashi before bowing his head to the ground.

"I beg of you Kakashi. You have served our village well once before, will you do it once again for the sake of peace and prosperity for the Village of Snow?"

Kakashi looked over the two identification papers. Something about that ninja bugged him. He then turned to Hiroshi and smiled.

"Certainly. Your village is safe with us."

"Thank you Kakashi. The village will be in your debt. Now, I have had 3 rooms prepared for you. I'm terribly sorry that I could not get one for each of you, unfortunately, we have a large amount of very well respected guests staying in my mansion at this current point in time, so rooms are limited. Please understand."

"It's no problem, I'm sure we can work something out."

"Very well then. I have many meetings and such to attend to. If you need me for something urgently, please don't hesitate to ask a servant for me." Hiroshi turned to Hideaki. "Hideaki?"

"Hai, Hiroshi-Sama?"

"Would you please show these people to their rooms?"

"Hai, Hiroshi-Sama."

Hiroshi turned back to Team 7.

"I believe that although our talk was rather somber, I also believe it was enlightening. It was a pleasure to meet all of you. I hope you rest well. Please excuse me."

Wit that said, Hiroshi raised himself off the ground and exited the room to the right. Hideaki also stood up and everyone did the same. They filed out of the door to the left and followed Hideaki in a single line. Naruto caught up and walked beside Hideaki.

"Neh, Hideaki-San, you were right about Hiroshi-Sama being a great guy. I can see why you like him so much."

"I'm glad you think that Naruto-San. Unfortunately, few people see him as that anymore, after that incident with Yukiko-San several months ago. They view him as nothing more than a demon worshiper who helped her escape, which couldn't be further from the truth. He helped her escape not because of Nibi, but because she as a human had no chance to defend herself. It just makes me so angry that people can be so... stupid... for lack of a better word sometimes."

"I know how you feel, Hideaki-San."

Hideaki stopped at 3 doors next to each other.

"These will be your rooms. Please make yourselves feel at home. If there's anything I can do, just ask."

With that, Hideaki waved and walked back into the mansion. The team turned to each other deciding who will get what rooms. Kakashi finally decided.

"Alright, I'm going to take the middle room with Sasuke. That way if either Sakura or Naruto and Yukiko get attacked, I can get to either just as quickly. Sakura, you take the room on the right, while Yukiko and Naruto take the room on the left. However, before we turn in tonight, I want everyone to come and familiarize themselves with these people we're after."

With that, they went into Kakashi's and Sasuke's room, and closed the door, unawear of the fact that they were being spied on by a misterious ninja who was hiding amongst some shubs just inside the compound.

"Heh, I think Kenta-Sama would want to hear about these leaf freaks."

With that, the ninja hopped over the wall and dissapaeared into the night.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Well this is the cut off point. Sorry guys, but I just can't fit it all in! Oh and next chapter, I will introduce our favorite organisation into the mix. Want to know more? Well, you'll have to wait and see folks! Until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	8. Intermission 1

**A/N:** Hello again readers! I've decided to make a small intermission between the Snow parts, because I'm having the worst case of writers block EVAR! I've been doing the final fight scene for almost two days, and I just can't seem to get it the way I want, so basically, I'm providing you with some new info, a character profile, history and a vote. I'll start with the history.

I've done some more research into the Bijus and I came across something VERY interesting. I'm sure everyone knows Kisame's sword is called Samehada. I can tell you now that they didn't just pull that name out of a hat, but they put a decent amount of thought into it. Read on to find out why. I also found out the Japanese name for the animal that the Sanbi (three tails) was named after. A Three Finned shark is called an Isonade. It's said that the subordinate of an Isonade is called... you guessed it... Samehada. If you look at Kisame's face, just under each eye are three black lines, and the Isonade is a three finned shark. Also, Samehada looks to be made of shark skin, and when you translate Samehada, it means "shark skin". If that wasn't enough, Kisame seems to have an unusually large chakra reserve, even by Akatski's standard. Here's an excerpt from wikepedia:

"The Leader (of Akatsuki) commented on his amount of chakra; a Kisame body-double at 30 power, made with the Leader's Shoten no Jutsu (Shapeshifting Technique), had as much chakra as Uzumaki Naruto possessed while drawing on the Nine-Tails chakra when he fought Neji during the Chūnin exams. A similar observation was made by Hyuga Neji when he observed Kisame's body-double with his Byakugan. Kisame also has immense physical strength as he demonstrated against Sarutobi Asuma and later against Maito Gai."

Kisame also has a lot of techniques that refer to sharks. The final piece of evidence is that Kisame in English means "demon shark". One thing that I still don't understand however is why Kisame seems to have personally undergone such a physical transformation to look like his Biju while the two other ones we know for sure are demon containers in the official story (Naruto and Gaara) maintained a much more human look. Sure, Naruto had whisker marks and Garra had those black circles around his eyes, but when you compare them to Kisame, the differences are rather obvious. The only solutions I can come up with is that Kisame may not have the Sanbi sealed inside him, be he may be the physical manifestation of the Biju itself. Either that, or he might have actually absorbed/merged with his Biju. Just a personal spin on things I thought might share with you readers.

Also, I've decided to base Naruto's Kyubi abilities on a modified version of the eight celestial gates, which I might call the nine demonic gates. During the preliminary matches, or during the main matches, depending on the results of the poll below, I will have Yukiko or Naruto explain to Naruto's friends during Naruto's fight. I've actually been working out the exactly how the Kyubi's abilities will work for a while now, and I hope that my theory is believable, as I have based it off the manga and anime, and I can pretty much take a well educated guess as to what each of the tails' power will give Naruto.

BTW, Pheonixoftheelements guessed Yukiko's secret. Yes, she is related to Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man, although neither of them know it... YET. I'll reveal it in the story either late next chapter or early the chapter after that. As promised, here's your cookie. Hands Pheonixoftheelements a cookie.

One final thing. I'm starting the next vote. This vote will concern who you want Naruto to face in the first round of the finals of the Chunin Exam, and voting will close after the end of the Forest of Death chapter, the reason why is stated below the poll. These are you options and what type of match it will be:

**(A): **Hyuga Neji (I have a VERY cruel fate instore for Neji if this option is picked.):

**(B): **Rock Lee (A battle to see which is better: The Demonic or Celestial Gates and who can open up more of them, ie a battle of epic proportions):

**(C): **Uchiha Sasuke (Basically a battle of the Doujutsu to prove which clan has the best Bloodline Limit and which has the most power: The Curse Seal lvl 1 or the Naruto's slightly Kyubified form):

If Lee wins the vote, I will have him verse a much easier opponent than Gaara in the preliminaries, so he gets through to the main matches with no problem. Also, I need to know by the start of the preliminaries if Lee, Neji or Sasuke are going to fight Naruto in the main matches so that I know how many gates Naruto needs to be able to open to fight fairly with Lee, Neji or Sasuke, so that he can learn how to open a defined number of gates during the 'training time' with Jiraiya based on his opponent.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Character Biography:**

**Name:** Yakushi Yukiko

**Age:** 12

**Birthday:** October 10th

**Bloodtype:** AB

**Height:** 4' 7"

**Weight:** 83 LBS

**Affiliation:** Formerly of the Snow, now the Leaf

**Rank:** Genin

**Trademark Techniques:** Kuchiyose no Jutsu, Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Chakra Scalpel.

**Known Techniques:** Death Type: Soul Syphon, Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Taitou za Bachiatari, Mokuton: Jyukai Koudan, Healing Type: Grand Healing Technique, Death Type: Drain Life, Death Type: Drain ChakraHealing Type: Healing Wind, Demon Mimicry Ninja Technique: Complete Body.

**Aquaintances:** Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Nibi


	9. Awakening of the Doujutsu

**A/N:** Hello again readers! It's time for the second instalment of the mission to the Snow.

I have to say, this chapter was easily the hardest chapter to do, hell, it caused me so much trouble I have had time to plan for everything up to the end of Naruto's fight in the main matches! And that includes all three alternatives for Naruto's opponent!

Also, I got 30 reviews! YATTA!

BTW, I will only be doing one round of the main matches, as that much of the story line I'm sticking to. The results of the vote so far:

**(A): **Hyuga Neji (Neji will be owned hardcore, because frankly, I think he's a jackass): 2

**(B): **Rock Lee (A battle to see which is better: The Demonic or Celestial Gates and who can open up more of them, ie a battle of epic proportions): 2

**(C): **Uchiha Sasuke (basically a battle of the Doujutsu to prove which clan has the best Bloodline Limit and which has the most power: The Curse Seal or the Demonic Gates, Chidori or Rasengan): 1

It stands at two for A and B and one for C.

Anyways, I'll get to the point you've all been waiting for.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 8:

Awakening of the Doujutsu:

**In a Smoke Filled Room on the Other Side of Town:**

In a vip room of a very low brow bar on the other side of the Village of Snow from Hiroshi's mansion, a rather obese man sat on a large plush chair and started to light a cigar. Just as the cigar was about to catch alight, the room suddenly filled with a mist that put the lighter's flame out.

"Katsuro, I really wish you wouldn't do that."

"My apologies, Kenta-Sama."

"Anyways, what news do you bring?"

"It's just as you feared Kenta-Sama. Hiroshi has hired ninja, leaf ninja at that."

The man in the chair started to light another cigar.

"Oh? Do you recognise any of them, Katsuro?"

"Most of them are a bunch of little runts, nothing but Genin who are nothing but fresh meat to feed my sword."

"And what of the others?"

Kenta took a sip of some sort of beverage, probably an alcoholic one.

"They couldn't have picked a better body guard, Kenta-Sama. The runt's instructor is none other than Hatake Kakashi himself."

Kenta spat out the drink started a coughing fit before looking at his right hand man in disbelief.

"HATAKE KAKASHI! Are you absolutely sure of this? You better not be lying!"

"His face is permanently etched into my brain from when he defeated us last. Although he has aged slightly, I am absolutely certain it is him."

"This is grave news indeed. I may have to alter my plans slightly. I want you to go back to the mansion and find out not only how much Kakashi is, but how good his little runts are as well."

"Understood, Kenta-Sama."

"Oh and Katsuro?"

"Yes, Kenta-Sama?"

"Try and stay out of trouble until we begin the push, ok?"

"Sure thing, boss."

Just like he had come in, Katsuro exited the room, putting out Kenta's cigar and ruining it, forcing him to get a new one. Kenta sighed before mumbling to himself about getting Katsuro to stop doing that.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back at the Hiroshi Mansion:**

Ok guys and girls, these are two primary targets. They may have other major accomplices, but these two are the main ones, got it? If you spot either of them, you are to run to me and tell me immediately, got it? Do not and I repeat DO NOT engage them without at least me present. Ok good, all of you go and get some sleep, it'll be a long day for us tomorrow. Good night everyone."

They all filed out of Kakshi's room, and went to their respective rooms. Naruto opened the door for Yukiko and allowed her to enter first ad turned around give her some privacy to change. When he heard her voice that she was ready, he turned around and walked through the doorway. As he was about to enter, he got a sudden, quick pulse of killing intent. Naruto froze and whipped around, only to find no one there. He gazed along the wall suspiciously before hearing Yukiko calling out to him.

"Naruto-Kun? Is something wrong?"

Naruto felt the killer intent disappear and shrugged it off. He'd talk about it with Kakashi tomorrow morning, for now though he just wanted to rest his body in a REAL bed for the first time in weeks.

"Nah, just imagining things. Let's go to sleep, Yukiko-Chan."

Naruto then shut the door behind him and went over to the bed that Yukiko was getting into. Naruto then realised that he still needed to change, he got his sleeping gear and went to a corner of the room to change. Yukiko gave him some privacy as he stripped. However, she couldn't help herself and took a quick peek at him. She saw him in only his boxers. He was definitely a sight to behold. Well toned biceps, and a four pack was starting to develop as well. She just blushed as perverted thoughts careened through her mind until Naruto turned around and noticed that she was staring at him. They both blushed, but said nothing. Naruto quickly donned his light blue panama top and pants, before slipping into bed beside Yukiko. They both looked at each other before having a short but passionate goodnight kiss.

"Night, Naruto-Kun, my Nine-Tailed Fox. Sleep well."

"You too Yukiko-Chan, my Two-Tailed Cat. Night."

With that, they just went to sleep in each other's arms wanting the moment to last forever.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**8 am. Next Morning:**

Everyone had woken up and gotten dressed. They were now in Kakashi's room, deciding their course of action.

"Guys, I'm sorry to say that this is no longer a lower A class mission, or an A class mission at all for that matter."

Everyone was shocked, especially Naruto.

"Eh? What do you mean no longer an A class mission, Kakashi-Sensei?"

"The right hand man of Kenta was known as one of the 7 Shinobi Swordsmen. That by itself is enough to bump this up to an upper A class mission, but I fear that Naruto and Yukiko's lives are in grave danger, and if my suspicious proves correct, this mission has become a mission that only someone of Kage level could undertake, which bumps this up to an middle S class mission at the least. If this turns out to be true, you two will be killed and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it."

Everyone was now in disbelief, especially Naruto and Yukiko.

"Kakashi-Sensei? Who's so strong that even you can't protect us?"

"I suppose I had to tell you sooner or later. There is an organisation of all S ranked missing-nins. They call themselves Akatski. They have a goal, and a disgusting one at that. They plan to gather all the demon containers from around the world and drain the container's demons for their own personal gain, thereby killing the host body. The weakest member is ranked as a middle S ranked ninja. I'm ranked as an upper A ranked ninja."

Yukiko still didn't see what this organisation had to do with the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen.

"Kakashi-Sensei, what does Akatski have to do with this mission? How are they related to the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen?"

"The most powerful member of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen is now a member of Akatski. If they become involved, we have no choice but to abandon this mission. We got into something way over our heads."

"Who is this member of Akatski, Kakshi-Sensei?"

"His name is Hoshigake Kisame. Sasuke, this has to do with you as well. Kisame is usually seen with a former member of the leaf. Your brother."

With that, Sasuke bristled considerably.

"My brother is around here!"

"We're not certain, Sasuke. Even if he was, I refuse to let you engage him. You can't beat me yet, and he could kill me without even breaking a sweat. Don't worry Sasuke, I'll see to it that when the time comes, you'll be ready to face your brother. Until then, I'm going to avoid all possible contact with anyone from Akatski. You'll know when you meet a member of Akatski by their black cloaks with red clouds on them and their straw hats that have white strips of paper coming off the hats. If you see anyone even remotely like that, run. Do not stop running until you can run no further. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone slowly nodded, including Sasuke.

"Good. Now, I would like all of you to come with me to meet with Hiroshi-Sama and tell him about my discovery."

Again they all nodded and filed out of the room and headed to the meeting room.

Once they were there, they took their seats and Hideaki and Hiroshi came into the room. They smiled before bowing slightly and beginning the conversation.

"Ah, Kakashi. I trust you slept well?"

"I wish I could say I did, Hiroshi-Sama. Unfortunately, the identity of Kenta's right hand man has been plaguing my mind all night. This morning, I finally figured out who he was. I regret to say that this mission is no longer an A class mission."

Hiroshi and Hideaki opened their eyes in surprise.

"What do you mean, Kakashi?"

"Kenta's right hand man was once part of a group of ninjas from the Hidden Village of the Mist who identified themselves as the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen. That alone bumps this up to an upper A class mission. However, there's more."

"More? How could it be any worse than that?"

"Hiroshi-Sama, we accepted a mission that was over all of our heads. The most powerful of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen is now part of a criminal organisation that identifies themselves as the Akatski. Have you heard of them before, Hiroshi-Sama?"

"I have heard myths about them, but nothing more. Please give me some background on them."

"Akatski is an organisation of missing-nins that are comprised of only the strongest ninjas in the world. The weakest of them is at least a middle S ranked ninja in my Bingo Book. I fear that if my suspicions are true, that the strongest member of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen will turn up hear and attempt to abduct both Naruto and Yukiko. The sole goal of Akatski is to round up all nine demon containers and drain them o their demons, thereby killing the demon's hosts. Also, it's known that the Akatski usually travel in pairs. Hoshigake Kisame is the name of the former member of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen. His partner from what we have been able to make out from the limited reports available is a former ninja of Konoha, possibly one of the mot powerful genius' we ever had. His name is Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother."

Hiroshi and Hideaki's eyes widened in fear.

"I apologise for not telling you this, Kakashi, but we had no idea of the true identity of this ninja or the implications…"

"Don't worry, Hiroshi-Sama. It's understandable. We will not abandon our mission unless Akatski becomes involved. We need you to understand that even a single member of Akatski is far beyond us, and Naruto and Yukiko's lives take priority over this mission. We're sorry to bring you such bad news, Hiroshi-Sama."

"On the contrary, Kakashi, I have to thank you for bringing this to my attention. Any new information about either of these two is very welcome. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"No, Hiroshi-Sama, that is all."

"I see. Again thank you for this information. Good luck with your mission. Please excuse me, I must go and update my forces on this. Have a pleasant day."

"You too, Hiroshi-Sama."

With that, everyone exited the room and Kakashi decided it was time to do some serious training. These kids had no idea of what they were up against, and although it wasn't much, he should be able to teach them some basic survival skills.

"Ok guys, I've decided to come up with a training regime to get you guys ready for combat. Let's go to the edge of town, we need to find some tall trees for this exercise."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**10 Minutes Later on the Outskirts of the Village:**

Kakashi stopped in front of four rather tall trees and turned to his students.

"Ok guys, I'm going to teach you how to control your charka by learning to climb trees. Without your hands."

"Everyone but Yukiko just stared at Kakashi with fish eyes.

"EH!"

"Basically, you are going to use your charka to stick to the trees. Basically, you gather the charka to the soles of your feet and moderate it carefully. Too much charka, and the tree will repel you. Too little, and you'll just fall off. I guess that's about all I can tell you on how to do it. I'll show you how it's done."

With that, Kakashi walked to one of the trees and stopped in front of it. He closed his eye and then put his foot on the tree and began walking up the trunk with his hands in his pockets as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura just stared at him while Yukiko was clearly unimpressed. Kakashi stopped and decided to walk along a branch. However, knowing Kakashi, he decided to show off and hang from the branch upside down without using his hands.

"That's basically it. Now, you four."

Kakshi threw four kunai at them which landed at their feet.

"Use those to mark your progress up the tree. Also, I suggest a running start to help you get a bit of momentum. Go when ready."

Just as Naruto was about to charge in, Yukiko grabbed his arm.

"Eh? What's up, Yukiko-Chan?"

Yukiko just whispered her answer in his ear.

"Despite what Kakashi-Sensei said about getting a running start, I think that would be a bad idea for you. There is another way of doing it, although it requires more charka, it is actually easier to do. I think my method is a better way of learning it."

"Ok, I'm interested, go on."

"Basically, go up to the tree and put one foot on the tree. Focus you charka to the point where you feel that your foot is stable, then put your other foot up and do the same. It's slow, but it usually works on the first or second try. I'll tell you what. If you do it first try, I'll give you a kiss, ok?"

Naruto's eyes widened. That was the sort of motivation he needed.

"You're on! Ok, here I go."

Naruto calmly walked up to the tree and put a foot on it, followed by his other. Yukiko also walked up to the tree and began her accent. Both of them climbed at an equal pace, Yukiko purposely kept pace with Naruto, smiling at him al the time. Naruto and Yukiko after abut a minute reached the top of their trees. Naruto let out a victory yell and forgot about focusing his charka and just fell off the tree. Yukiko screamed, but Naruto managed to land on a snow covered branch and use his charka to swing around it upside down and smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. Yukiko sighed in relief, before running back down the tree, and Naruto dropped down too. Yukiko ran over t Naruto and gave him a hug and a kiss, before playfully beating his chest.

"BAKA! Don't scare me like that! I was so worried…"

"Eh heh heh, sorry Yukiko-Chan, I forgot to focus my charka for a second. But I'm still alive so it's all good, isn't it?"

"I suppose you're right."

Suddenly, a cal from the top of another tree caught their attention.

"Hey, this isn't so hard after all!"

There sitting on a branch at the top of a tree was Sakura. It seems she made it first go too.

"Eh? Good work, Sakura-Chan!"

The only person who was left was Sasuke. He paled quite noticeably before he turned to Naruto and gave him a very odd look.

"Neh… Naruto… What did Yukiko tell you about focusing your charka?"

Seeing that Naruto was in a position of power, he decided to take advantage of it.

"Well, if I tell you, will you teach me that fire jutsu after this?"

Sasuke saw he was in no position to bargain, so he sighed and nodded his head.

"Yatta! Ok basically, what you have to do is…"

Naruto said the rest as a whisper in Sasuke's ear. Sasuke nodded at regular intervals, before Naruto finished and Sasuke smiled.

"Thanks Naruto. I'll teach you that fire jutsu after this."

"Ok, go for it, Sasuke!"

Sasuke walked up to his tree and stopped. He closed his eyes and focused his charka to the base of his feet and then placed his right foot on the tree before placing his left foot on the tree and continued in that fashion. Soon enough, Sasuke reached the top. Naruto smiled and gave a thumbs up while Kakashi just smiled at his team.

"Well it seems that you all mastered this exercise with ease. Ok guys, this was unexpected, as I thought most of you would at least take several hours to complete this exercise. Ok guys and girls, take the next two hours of to train in whatever you want in this general area. I'll be sitting here if you need me."

"Ok, later Kakashi-Sensei! Neh, Sasuke, could you show me that fire jutsu now?"

"I guess. Let's go over here."

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, Ill see you in several hours, ok?"

Naruto gave Yukiko a hug and a quick kiss before running over to Sasuke. Yukiko had an idea on what would be a good training exercise for herself and Sakura.

"Sakura-San, I've noticed that you have extremely precise charka control. I'd say you would be well suited to medical abilities. Would you like me to start teaching you some of the basics of medical ninjutsu?"

Sakura thought this would be the a good opportunity. She may actually be able to use medical ninjutsus to win Sasuke-Kun's heart!

"You think so? Ok, I'd love to learn some of the basics of medicine."

"Great, let's go over here and start off with the basics."

Kakashi sighed and pulled out that little red book that we've all come to know and hate and began reading while giggling like a little school girl at random intervals.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Nearly Two Hours Later with Naruto and Sasuke:**

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

with said announcement, a moderately sized fireball appeared and scorched the already burnt ground. Sasuke was impressed. Naruto was keeping up with the pace that Sasuke had maintained when he learnt it.

"Naruto, I think you might actually be a natural at fire jutsus. You're setting a good pace. Keep this up and you may be almost as good as me. Almost"

"Heh, thanks for the compliment. By the way, what exactly do you think I'm doing wrong? I'm pumping a decent amount of charka into the technique. I don't know what else I'm doing wrong…"

"Do it again. Let me see if I can find what's wrong."

"Ok."

Naruto focused again and let forth another fireball, this one slightly larger than the last. Sasuke finally figured out what the problem was.

"Naruto. I think I've found the problem. You're not mixing the charka and air right. Try focusing on the mixture of the two, and try and imagine that the chakra is kind of like a flame, while the air is like a rush of explosive gas. That's what I did when I was learning this technique, and that's what I found made me do the technique properly. Give it a try."

Naruto closed his eyes and focused before doing the appropriate hand seals and calling out his technique.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

This time, the result was very different to the previous ones. Naruto let one massive fireball go, which made its way through the forest, incinerating everything in its path. The fireball finally died down about fifty meters from where Naruto stood. Sasuke whistled at the spectacle.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. I knew I was right when I said you were a natural at fire techniques. Good work, Naruto. I think you've got this one covered."

Naruto let forth a rather loud "YATTA!" before putting his arm around Sasuke.

"Naruto, although you're happy, I'd appreciate it if you didn't hug me in such a…. Familiar way…"

Naruto released his hold on Sasuke before giving his trademark foxy grin and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, Sasuke."

"No problem. Now, let's head back."

"Yeah!"

They walked back to the group rather pleased with themselves. They saw that the two girls were rather pleased as well. Naruto was the first to break the silence.

"So, what kind of training did you do, Yukiko-Chan, Sakura-Chan?"

"Well, I saw how easily Sakura mastered the tree climbing exercise, so it occurred to me that Sakura should at least be half decent at medical ninjutsu. Boy was I surprised, she not only half decent, she's got the ability to become a very good medic, possibly almost as good as me."

"Wow, way to go Sakura-Chan!"

"Thanks, Naruto. By the way, how did Naruto do with the fire technique, Sasuke-Kun?"

"I thought Naruto would have no hope at it before we started, but he proved me to be very wrong. Not only did he manage to master it, I think Naruto might be a natural at fire jutsus."

"I'm impressed with the four of you. All of you have been progressing nicely. I've decided that we can go on a data gathering mission to find out more about our enemies. Remember what I said about the rules of engagement. If you spot them, run and tell me immediately. DO NOT engage. Understood?"

"Hai!"

"Ok kids, let's go into town."

Yukiko suddenly looked sullen

"Kakashi-Sensei, may I go to my former apartment? I… want to go there for personal reasons…"

Kakashi looked at Yukiko with sadness.

"Yeah, that's fine, although I want you to take one other person with you to watch your back. I can't afford to have us split up by ourselves. I assume you want to take Naruto with you?"

"Hai."

"Ok, meet back at the centre of the village in 2 hours, and we'll walk back to Hiroshi-Sama's mansion from there. Let's go everyone."

Kakshi, Sakura and Sasuke wondered off towards some part of town while Naruto and Yukiko waked hand in hand towards Yukiko's former apartment.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Yukiko's Apartment:**

Yukiko stopped outside a run down block of apartments. Yukiko took out a key from one of her pockets and walked towards her apartment only to find that the door had been blown in. They carefully snuck inside incase there were still people there only to find that the whole apartment had been trashed. Yukiko looked on in horror at the mess. Yukiko ran through the mess to what was her bedroom. She went to the remains of her desk and saw that her family heirloom was smashed beyond recognition and laid in pieces across the desk. Yukiko couldn't take any more, and fell to her knees and began letting out gasps and sobs.

"Yukiko-Chan, what is this... Or what was this locket?"

"Naruto-Kun... sob ... that was my family's heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter... sniff ... It's been in the family for over two hundred years... choke ... And I broke it!"

"No! Yukiko-Chan, you did NOT break this! Those bastard villagers did! How could you even begin to think you had any thing to do with this locket's breaking?"

"But because of me, the villagers' loved ones were reanimated and killed! They had every right to do this-"

"ENOUGH!"

Yukiko cringed at Naruto as he shouted these words. Naruto quickly saw that he had made a mistake, and bent down next to Yukiko and put a hand on her face. His next reply was much more measured and gentle.

"Yukiko-Chan, were you in control of your body when you raised the dead?"

"No, but-"

"Did you have any control over your body whatsoever?"

"No..."

"Then how is it your fault? You had absolutely no say in your actions. Now tell me. Did you want Nibi to raise the dead?"

"Of course not!"

"There you go then. Not only did you have absolutely no control over your body, but you had no intention of raising the dead. Do you still think it's your fault?"

"Well, I guess not..."

"Yukiko-Chan, listen to me. That whole incident was just one big misunderstanding. The villagers probably thought you were not only fully in control of yourself, but they probably thought you wanted to hurt them, which was exactly the opposite of the truth. Forget these villagers, they have no consideration for their 'comrades' whatsoever. They really aren't even worth the time. Why don't we just forget about these ungrateful selfish caring bastards and look for anything salvageable before we head back to Hiroshi-Sama's mansion. Sound ok with you?"

Yukiko started crying again, and Naruto wondered what he did wrong this time.

"Thank you, Naruto-Kun. You really know how to win people over don't you? I think you'd make a great Hokage one day."

Naruto just gave his trademark foxy grin and scratch on the back of the head. Yukiko took this opportunity to launch herself onto him and push him to the floor and give him a long passionate kiss. Naruto wasn't expecting this, and turned rather red in the face before kissing Yukiko back and placing his arms around her waste. The two just enjoyed the moment while it lasted. Slowly, Yukiko drew back and cupped Naruto's cheek in her hand. Both of them gazed at each other with a look that most others would recognise as pure love. Naruto heard his watch make its regular hourly beep that it made every hour on the hour.

_'Crap! How did we waste so much time!'_

_**'Do you really think it was wasted, kit?'**_

_'Guess not...'_

_**'Then stop complaining. Now, why don't you take a look around for anything to salvage?'**_

_'Ok.'_

Naruto leaned up and whispered in Yukiko's ear.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, we need to get moving. We only have an hour before we are supposed to be back at the mansion. Why don't you go search the rest of the apartment while I search the bedroom?"

_**'Oi, kit. It's not a good idea to offer a girl to search her bedroom. Their bedroom is a rather... Personal place for them.'**_

_'I have a reason for this.'_

_**'Want to search her panty draw, eh?'**_

_**'Kidding kit, kidding.'**_

"_I damn well hope you are.'_

_**'Geez, lighten up ok?'**_

_'Whatever. You'll see what I meant.'_

Yukiko blushed before slowly agreeing. She turned around and walked back into the apartment. Naruto turned back to the remains of the locket.

_'Neh, Kyubi, this may sound a tad selfish, but I need your help...'_

_**'What do you want, kit?'**_

_'Can you tell me if you can see any more pieces of the locket anywhere else in the room?'_

_**'Heh, I see where this is going. Sure thing, kit. I'm going to do a partial demon transformation, only for your eyes though. Although I can still see out of your eyes, frankly I think I'm wondering around half-blind. Demon's eyesight is about 20 times better than a humans.'**_

_'Ok then, go for it.'_

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes changed quickly from cerulean blue to crimson red and the pupils elongated. Naruto started looking around the room before Kyubi spotted something that was obviously part of the locket.

_**'There, underneath that sock. Also, there's another one next to the front left leg of the bed. I think that's about it... No, there's another one under that bra.'**_

_'Under the BRA!'_

_**'Yes kit, that's what I said. I suggest picking it up quickly, as Yukiko's coming back. You have about 7 seconds to pick it up before she comes back into the room.'**_

_'Ok, thanks, Kyubi.'_

_**'No worries kit. It's for a good cause. Have you got the parts that were on the desk?'**_

_'I do now.'_

"_**Good stuff."**_

Just then, Yukiko came into the room. She was holding some photos amongst other things.

"Naruto-Kun, did you find anything?"

Naruto just shook his head Yukiko lowered her head. Naruto decided to lean up against a wall as he looked behind the chest of draws. However when he put some of his weight onto his hands, he heard a crack, and when he looked at the wall, there was a rather large crack in it. Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"Ah hah! Gomen, Yukiko-Chan..."

"Don't worry about it, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto put his hands on either side of the crack and peered over the chest of draws again. However, this time, the section of the wall gave way. When Naruto got up off the ground and the plaster dust settled, they saw that the section of 'wall' had actually been nothing but a thin sheet of plaster covering a little indent in the wall that contained a miniature safe. They both looked at each other with wide eyes and grabbed the safe. It was surprisingly heavy, and it required both of them to carry it. Naruto just managed to put his wrist in a position to see the time.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, we have 45 minutes to get back to the centre of the Village. I say we should take what we have and head back."

"Ok Naruto-Kun. Let's go."

With that, both of them put the things on top of the safe and lugged the safe back with them.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Centre of the Village:**

Just as Kakashi was about to go look for Naruto and Yukiko, the two ninjas appeared from around a corner carrying a safe. Kakashi's visible eye widened in surprise.

"Did you two really go to Yukiko's apartment, or did you go rob a bank?"

"Nah, Kakashi-Sensei, we found this hidden in the remains of Yukiko-Chan's apartment behind a thin bit of plaster. Unfortunately, this is all we could salvage. Those bastard Villagers completely trashed her apartment."

"I see. I'm sorry, Yukiko."

"No, it's ok. I managed to get most of my most precious belongings out of there with minimal damage."

"That's good. Well, I think we should start heading back. Let's go kids."

"Hai!"

With that, the five of them worked their way back to Hiroshi's mansion. Kakashi noticed as they got closer to the mansion, the people started to thin out, which was unusually, considering that the trade sector of the village was up the north end. Kakashi was starting to fear for the worst when he came to the gates of Hiroshi's mansion, only to find the guards slaughtered and blood everywhere. They five of them immediately got into a defensive stance. They suddenly heard a groan from off to their left. They looked at each other and ran in formation towards the noise. When they got there, they saw that one guard was still alive, although barely.

"What happened here?"

"Kakashi-San? We were attacked by... Cough ... By Katsuro and some kid I've never seen before..."

"Where are they now?"

"Inside..."

With that, the guard died from loss of blood. The four students looked distraught. Kakashi decided to give them a shortened version of the prep talk that an instructor gave his students when they first encountered death.

"So this is your first death caused by injury is it? Well we all have to see it at some point. That's unfortunately one of the things a shinobi has to deal with every day. Unfortunately, we don't have time to talk you though this, so we have to get going, or else Hiroshi-Sama could end up like these guards. Let's go!"

With that the five ran into the front door and followed the trail of bodies. Finally, they suddenly heard a scream, and rushed in the direction it came from. When they got to the courtyard, they saw a woman who had just been killed on the ground. On the far side of the courtyard, Hiroshi and Hideaki were cornered up against the mansion wall. In between the two men and Team 7, however, was Katsuro and by his side was a younger man. The younger man had bandages covering his entire face. He was dressed in a kimono that looked like it could be worn for both formal occasions and for battle. Strapped to his side, was a dual bladed sword. Katsuro on the other hand, looked far more scruffy. He wore black pants and a black vest with a Jounin jacket over the top. Most of his body was concealed however, by a very worn and ragged white cape that was attached to his shoulders. Strapped to his back was a very large sword. Saying it was large really didn't do the sword justice though. The sword was a very thin Murmasa. However it was not it's thickness that caught everyone's eye. It was the fact that the sword had to be at least 8 foot long that threw them off. Yukiko puzzled to herself as to how the man could even carry that sword on his back let alone fight with it well enough to be considered one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist. At the sound of Team 7's arrival, Katsuro and his companion turned around.

"Oh? It seems I've been honoured with a visit from the infamous Hatake Kakashi. Tell me, Kakashi. Who are these runts you have with you? Did you decide to settle down with a woman and have kids?"

"Hardly, Katsuro. These are my subordinates."

"HA HA HA HA HA! So, the genius Kakashi finally decided to let himself be tamed by his village? How pathetic."

"Tell me, Katsuro. What have you done in your life that you can be proud of accomplishing? Did you have the pleasure of being the first real sensei of the next generation of shinobi who have more power and potential that either you or I did when we were their age?"

Katsuro looked vaguely amused at this.

"Hmmm? Are you saying these kids are really that good? Well, it would be a pity if I were to let these runts grow up to let them try and prove that claim, eh Kakashi?"

Katsuro's companion started forming hand seals for his technique. Everyone became serious, but Naruto just stared at the ninja's hands hands.

_'When did I suddenly find hands so interesting?'_

"Ninpou, Kiri Gakure no Jutsu."

With those words, the area started rapidly filling with mist. Kakashi knew this was bad. Just before the mist hid Hiroshi and Hideaki from view, he motioned his team to follow. They ran towards their two charges, however Naruto was still a bit shocked at his new fascination with hands. He shook it off and tried to catch up with his team mates.

"One of them's a bit slow, Kakashi. Mind if I take care of the garbage?"

Naruto suddenly felt an arm grapple his neck and a sword appear in front of his face. Kakshi visibly got angry. Sasuke let the groups' feelings out.

"Naruto? What the hell we you doing back there?"

"I... I don't know! I suddenly became completely absorbed in Katsuro's hands while he did the hand seals for that technique!"

"Ha ha ha ha. You sure picked up a weird one here, Kakashi. He has a fetish for hands? How amusing..."

Kakashi suddenly started flying through a set of hand seals, again, Naruto was mesmerised. Katsuro released Naruto and began performing the same set of hand seals as Kakashi.

_'What the hell is this? When did I get so... PERVERTED?'_

_**'Kit, you're not perverted. Try focusing some of your chakra to your eyes next time you see a set of hand seals being done. If this is what I think it is, then you're one lucky kit.'**_

_'Eh? Well, Ok...'_

"SUITON: SUIRUDAN NO JUTSU! (Water Type: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)"

From behind both ninja, the mist started condensing to form rather large dragons. The dragons spiralled their way up before their heads took shape. They reared up against each other and then crashed into each other and dissipating, forming a heavy shower. Sasuke was getting pissed of at Naruto being dazed.

"NARUTO! Get your ass over here now! You'll be killed!"

"Ha... Hai!"

Naruto sprinted over to his team mates. About half way there, he saw five or so kunai fly out of the mist to the right and graze his cheek. A trickle of blood ran down the cut and Naruto turned to look where the kunai had come from.

"I won't let you go back to your friends. I will be taking care of you."

After the disembodied voice said that, more kunai came flying towards him. Naruto just managed to dodge when the assailant appeared behind him and started forming hand seals. Remembering Kyubi's advice, Naruto focused as much charka as he could spare to his eyes. When the mysterious ninja formed the first hand seal, the person seemed to fade into a silhouette and became surrounded by a thin aura of chakra. He noticed that with each hand seal, the chakra of the ninja almost… pulsed and began to work it's way towards the ninja's mouth.

'_What the hell is this? What's happening to me?'_

'_**Congratulations kit, you just awakened your bloodline limit.'**_

'_Sweet!'_

'_**I suggest getting back to your team mates.'**_

'_Yeah.'_

Naruto noticed that the ninja was going to do a jutsu that would surround him. He needed to get out of now or he would die for sure. Using Hiraishin no Jutsu, Naruto flashed over to his team mates and stood beside them, dodging the ninja's technique.

"Senstsatsu Suisho!"

Naruto had been right. The water came up off the ground and transformed into a rain of ice needles that rained down on where he had just been standing.

Yukiko noticed Naruto's shocked expression.

"Naruto-Kun? What's wrong?"

Naruto turned to Yukiko and Yukiko gasped.

"Eh? Yukiko-Chan? What's with that look?"

"Naruto-Kun… Your eyes… They're turning black…"

With that, everyone watched the outside of Naruto's eyes turn black, and watched in horror as the black rims bled into the centre of his eye. When the blackness reached the centre Naruto's pupils turned cerulean blue and a cerulean blue triangle appeared where the edge of the pupil would have been.

"Naruto-Kun… you've gone blind…"

"EH! Well, sure I can't see colours, but I can see so much more! I never knew hand seals meant so much!"

"What the hell are you rambling about, Naruto?"

"I don't know, but I can see what part of the body the technique is going to come from just by watching the flow of chakra surrounding their bodies and the way each hand seal moulds the chakra and a whole bunch of other things!"

"You serious? That could be useful!"

Sasuke thought about their options and decided to leave one of them here while the rest took care of the unknown ninja.

"Sakura, I need you to stay here and guard Hiroshi-Sama and Hideaki, ok?"

"But Sasuke-Kun, I want to help you guys to-"

"Sakura! We don't have time for arguments! We need someone who can apply medical attention and also has defensive techniques. You're the perfect option. Naruto, Yukiko, we're going!"

Naruto looked back in pity at Sakura before turning to follow the rest of the team.

"Sorry, Sakura-Chan…"

Sasuke, Yukiko and Naruto ran to what they judged to be the middle of the courtyard. They heard a disembodied laugh, and formed a triangular formation with a kunai in one hand.

"My my, such kawaii young children… Did you know that there are eight points on the human body where a single well placed attack with instantly kill you?"

Sasuke was visibly disturbed, so much so that he was quivering.

'_This guy could seriously kill us with ease! We're going to die!'_

"Awwww, look at him, he's shaking. Poor child, I'll end your suffering right now."

The mysterious ninja suddenly appeared in the middle of the trio facing Sasuke.

"shi-ne!"(sp?) (die)

The ninja took out a small knife and lunged in to stab Sasuke Sasuke closed his eyes and waited for the end.

SPLAT

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Sasuke opened his eyes to see Kakashi had managed to run in and take the hit for Sasuke.

"Kakshi-Sensei?"

"Sasuke. I will NEVER allow one of my comrades to die while I still breathe, got it? Now sharpen up, I can't afford to have you guys blanch now, got it?"

"O… Okay…"

"Oi, Kakshi, stop protecting those runts, your fight is over here."

"Take care guys."

With that, Kakashi ran off into the mist. The trio once again concerntraited on their own fight, full of resolve.

"Heh, seems that little prep talk by Kakashi blew away your fears… such a pity… Now, I will show you the true power of the Hidden Snow Village!"

The ninja started a long series of hand seals. Everyone turned to Naruto expectantly. Naruto on the other hand, grew very fearful and looked around wildly.

"Shit guys, this is bad. REALLY bad! He's going to surround us with some sort of barrier…"

"Barrier?"

"The chakra is lowering the temperature dramatically and forming into a dome! We have to move. NOW!"

The ninja finished his hand seals and snickered.

"It's far too late for that kiddies. Observe the Bloodline Limit that few in this world posses anymore! Snow Prison of Hell!"

With those words uttered, the water on the ground started raising itself into a dome like structure before freezing. The dome finally formed a complete seal around them. Sasuke, Yukiko and Naruto were wary of what could happen. Suddenly, a wall of snow shot up from one corner to the middle of the room, ending between the group. They jumped back, unknown to them however, this technique relied on that natural human reaction to improve the technique's effectiveness. Suddenly, a second wall came up, sealing Sasuke off from Naruto and Yukiko. They all realised what the aim of this technique was. Yukiko glanced in horror as she tried to run towards Naruto, but the last snow wall sprung up inbetween them, separating all three ninjas. They took in their surroundings to find that there was a small gap in the very center of the room where they could see each other, but the hole was far two small to do anything but place a hand and an arm through it. They ran to the center to converse and try and find out what the hell kind of a technique this was. They looked at Naruto expectantly.

"Guys, I'd love to tell you how this works, but I can't. My eyes don't understand this at all. All I'm seeing is chakra everywhere. It makes no sense whatsoever…"

From the wall in each section of the dome, a copy of the mysterious ninja appeared. The copies all spoke their reply in unison.

"That's to be expected. No one has ever lived through my clan's technique, and that's not going to change."

When the ninja said that, ice kunai grew out of the walls and flew at them from all directions, passing through the ninja who was apparently nothing more than a bunshin. Kakashi and Sakura heard their screams and looked towards the trio. Katsuro laughed.

"Seems Isamu has used his Bloodline Limit on them. They're stuffed. No one has EVER lived through Isamu's bloodline limit. Might as well accept fate."

"No."

"Eh?"

"They will defeat Isamu. I have absolute confidence in them."

"Heh heh. Big words Kakashi. What makes you think they can?"

"One of them is the last of our elite Uchiha clan. Another is an excellent medic who specialises in both wood and death type techniques and the last one is the only son of our Yondaime Hokage."

With that last one, Katsuro's eyes widened.

"Son of the Yondaime Hokage? Interesting… I might just have to kill him. It's too dangerous to let him live."

"No! Your fight is with me. Turning your back on an opponent is a fatal mistake. You as a 'Jounin' should know that."

"Hmmm, how true. Well then, shall we?"

Kakashi knew if he created kage bunshins, Katsuro would most likely make muzi bunshins and they would cancel each other out, meaning a complete waste of chakra. His only option left was...

"Oh? I'm honoured to be able to witness what copy ninja Kakashi is most famous for. So that's the famous Sharingan. However, what can you hope to do with that eye if you can't see me? You're eye is useless here, Kakashi."

Kakashi felt a sligh change in air pressure to his left that was at the height of his neck. He quickly bent forward, dodging a kunai.

"Hmmm, not bad reflexes, Kakashi. Please, entertain me some more."

Although Kakashi felt what happened next, by the time he noticed it, it was far too late to do anything. He felt the murmasa pierce his back, and come out through his chest. Katsuro just laughed.

"THIS is the limit of the famous copy ninja Kakashi? How pathetic..."

Katsuro pulled the sword out and stood over his kill, letting Kakashi fall to the ground. However, Katuro's eyes widened when the dead Kakashi poofed away leaving nothing but a small pile of blood on the floor.

"Hmmm? Kage Bunshin?"

"Katsuro, if you take me that lightly, you will die. Take this fight seriously, or you will regret it."

Katsuro felt a kunai appear at his throat. He gulped before slowly bringing his head around to see Kakshi behind him with his right arm extended to hold the kunai at his throat.

"Game over, Katsuro."

Katsuro wouldn't let himself go down so easily, and swung his sword around in a wide arc, attempting to slice that arrogant Konoha ninja in half, however Kakashi was expecting this and slit Katsuro's neck, only to find that 'Katsuro' was a Muzi Bunshin, who lost it's form and fell to the ground in a pile of water. Kakashi looked around calmly to find where Katsuro had gone, but the former member of the Seven Shinobi swordsmen refused to reveal the fact that he was even present. Kakashi closed his eyes and focused.

_'Where will Katsuro strike next?. Think... SHIT!'_

Kakashi ran off towards Sakura and their two charges.

Sakura, Hideaki, and Hiroshi had clamed considerably, but were still very wary as to what could happen. Sakura sensed the two behind her and noticed they were ok, and turned her focus forward again. As soon as she did, she felt another being appear in the middle of the little triangle that they formed. Sakura whipped around to see Katsuro standing there, sword at the ready.

"SHI-NE!"

Sakura brought her kunai up in a feeble attempt to block the monster of a sword, however she knew in all probability, even if the sword did make contact with the kunai, the sword would cut through it like a hot knife through butter. Sakura accepted her fate and prepared for death. What happened next was not expected. Kakshi had somehow mamanged to get in between them and block the sword with the short sword he had strapped to his back at all times.

"Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Sakura, as I said to Sasuke, I will NEVER let a team mate down. That includes you too."

"How touching. Come on, Kakashi, let's go back to where we have some more space, shall we?"

With that, Katsurovanished in a burst of speed. Kakashi turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, keep up the good job protecting Hiroshi-Sama and Hideaki. I need them both to be alive by the end of this battle, ok? Good luck!"

With that said, Kakashiran into the mist, leaving the three to themselves. Sakura sighed in relief, before taking up a defensive position again.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back with Sasuke, Naruto and Yukiko:**

All three ninjas were having fight of their lives. They were peppered with ice kunai, and were just managing to stay upright. Sasuke looked through the middle hole at Naruto and nodded, to which Naruto nodded back.

"KATON: GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!"

Naruto and Sasuke both targeted the meeting point of the dividing walls in hopes of creating a space for all of them to get back together. When the fireballs reached the wall, they initially seemed to work, however, the snow wall held fast. When the fireballs died away, the snow walls began rapidly repairing themselves. The unknown ninja let out a hearty laugh.

"I'll give it to you three, that's the most damage anyone's ever done to the dome, however, as you can see, it was essentially a waste of chakra, because the walls instantaneously repair themselves. Also, have you noticed the true purpose of this dome yet?"

Yukiko and Sasuke looked at Naruto, who suddenly shot up in surprise.

"No wonder I saw chakra everywhere! This dome's draining our chakra and using it to reinforce the walls!"

"Oh, you're a sharp one. Yes, that's correct. This dome saps your chakra and uses it to not only strengthen the walls, but to unleash attacks back at you, such as this."

They saw another wave of ice kunai sprouting out of the walls, and knew they were in big trouble. However, Sasuke seemed to notice something.

"Guys, those copies of the ninja aren't bunshins!"

"Well, if they're not bunshins, then what are they?"

"I… Don't know…"

"Seems you're pretty sharp as well. You're correct, the images you see in front of you are not bunshins. Although you've figured out more than any other person I've used this technique on combined, I don't feel inclined to tell you what you are actually seeing."

Sasuke was unknowingly focusing chakra to his eyes.

'_It's like I can almost… See how this technique works! Concerntraite! See though it!'_

Sasuke's formerly obsidian coloured irises began to turn a blood red colour.

'_More! I need to focus more!'_

On the edge of Sasuke's iris's, a comma shaped object in each eye began to form. His left eye stayed at one, however, his right eye gained another comma on the opposite side of the iris.

'_It's not much, but I think I can see how this technique works!'_

The ninja had not missed this change in eye colour, and whistled in surprise.

"Hmm, so it seems that most of us are blessed with some sort of Bloodline Limit, eh? It seems your friend has just awakened his. If memory serves, that would be the Sharingan, would it not? I've always wanted to kill an Uchiha, to see how my bloodline limit would fare against yours. Now, shall we continue?"

Sasuke followed the small stream of the ninja's chakra that flowed from the image of the ninja in front of him up to the very top of the dome.

'_Hmmm, he seems to have figured out most of this technique. I have to finish this now, it's too risky to toy with them any longer.'_

With that thought, the ninja formed a solid wall of ice kunai on the dome's walls, and sent them at the three. This used up almost all of the ninja's chakra, but it was a garunteed kill.

Their screams echoed throughout the mansion's grounds. All three of them were curled up in fetal positions near the hole in the wall, hoping to see their friends one last time before they died. Sasuke managed to get up and put his arm through the hole.

"… Nar… Uto…"

"Sasuke…"

"I… Didn't want to die… Until I killed… HIM… I thought my oath of revenge would… Protect me until… I fought him…"

"Your… brother?"

"Yeah…"

"You'll live! You can't die! Hell, We'll kill him together! Don't die! PLEASE!"

"It's too late… Naruto… I have… One request…"

"What is it Sasuke?"

"You have to… Carry out my revenge… For me… That's the only thing I'll… Ever ask of you…"

"Sasuke…"

"Please! Promise me you'll do it… Before I die…"

"Sure! I'll kill him… But please Sasuke-"

"It's too late… Goodbye… Naruto…"

With that, Sasuke slid down the wall of snow and stopped breathing. Naruto started crying The ninja looked strangely sympathetic.

"Was that the first time you saw a friend die? I must appologise, but it's either you or me-"

"**Shut up."**

The ninja stopped dead when he heard those words. He turned to see the boy beginning to leak blood red chakra out of his body.

"**You killed my best and ONLY friend! I will never forgive you! I'm going to kill you!"**

The ninja looked in shock at the boy as he raised his face. His hair had become unruly, his whisker marks had widened and darkened, his fingernails had extended and his cainines had grown. The strangest one of his many physical changes was that his pupil had elongated and turned blood red in colour. However the most shocking thing of all that happened was that the kunai were ejected out of his body and the wounds closed and healed at a rapid rate. The ninja suddenly felt another large and very evil chakra source coming from the girl.

"**How DARE you murder Sasuke-San! That was my boyfriend's one and only friend! You have no idea how much pain you just caused him! Stage two, demonic seal! KAI!"**

When she shouted those words, she immediately underwent the same transformation Naruto had, but green goo like chakra began pumping out of her stomach, which eventually covered her entire body. They green "chakra armour" gave her the physical appearance of a cat. The ninja turned back to the boy who was letting out a howl that showed an incredible thirst for blood. He suddenly seemed to go deep into thought. He was however, having a quick discussion with his tenant.

'_**Oi kit. I'm going to show you your other Bloodline Limit. I assume you know about the celestial gates?'**_

'_Who gives a damn! That bastard murdered Sasuke!'_

'_**Just shut up and listen, if you do this, you will gain enough power to rip that ninja's body to pieces and he can't stop you.'**_

'_Fine I'm listening.'_

'_**Ok, focus your chakra to your brain. Can you sense two areas where the chakra is concerntraited the most?'**_

'_Yeah, there's one in the left and right sides of the brain.'_

'**_Good. Try to pump as much chakra into the right one as you can, try to force it open.'_**

'_Right, here we go…'_

With that, Naruto forced as much chakra into the gate as possible, eventually the gate buckled and opened under the pressure, flooding Naruto's body with power. The power rapidly rushed to his stomach and began to be expelled from his stomach in an almost semi solid form. The ninja noticed that Naruto had begun to gain an aura of blood red chakra similar to Yukiko's, although when the chakra reached Naruto's chest, he began clutching his chest in obvious pain, and when the chakra reached his neck, Naruto let out a blood curdling scream of pure pain, which morphed into a roar of bloodthirsty rage when the chakra engulfed his head. Naruto slowly lowered himself to the ground and stood on all fours. As soon as he touched the ground, steam came out from under his hands and feet. The chakra armour turned opaque, with only the very edges of the armour staying blood red. The armour once again became transparent, and Naruto let out a guttural snarl. If the ninja didn't know any better, he looked like the representation of a fox or a Kitsune.

'_**Kit, I'm sensing the original ninja at the top of the dome.'**_

'_Thanks.'_

'_**No problem.'**_

Naruto raised one of his arms, and brought it down in a vertical swipe. The hand of his chakra armour extended towards the centre wall and completely smashed it to pieces. The dome began to visibly sag without its central supports, however it held up. Naruto beckoned Yukiko over to him. Naruto wasn't going let the dome stand up anymore, and he extended his other chakra hand towards where he detected the ninja was. His hand punctured the ceiling and grabbed the ninja and yanked him back towards the pair. Both of them began condensing chakra into their fists for a big punch. The ninja cried out in pain while Naruto and Yukiko screamed in anger. When the ninja got to the right distance, Naruto and Yukiko punched the ninja so hard that he not only went straight through the dome wall, causing the dome to collapse, and the mist to clear, but he went flying into the mansion wall right next to Sakura, Hiroshi and Hideaki. The part of the mansion wall that the ninja hit buckled and turned into a crater. The ninja slid down to the ground and slowly got up. When Sakura saw Naruto and Yukiko, her legs gave way and she collapsed. Naruto and Yukiko charged, letting forth a battle cry and ran at the ninja who just stood there, with his head bent slightly. Naruto and Yukiko reached the ninja and stopped.

"Aren't you going to kill me? I killed your best friend."

Sakura looked up in horror at the ninja.

'_He... He killed Sasuke-Kun!'_

Naruto and Yukiko gave a sadistic smile.

"**Oh, we'll kill you alright. We're going to make your death slow and painful. No need to rush, we have all day."**

Naruto turned to Yukiko and nodded. Naruto extended his chakra hand and grabbed the ninja and began to squeeze forcefully, not only constricting him, but burning him with the red hot chakra. The ninja screamed in agony.

"**Oh come on, don't tell me this is hurting you THAT much? It seems that we can't have as much fun with you as we initially wanted to. Yukiko-Chan, if you would be so kind?"**

"**Heh, very well, Naruto-Kun. Death Element: Soul Siphon!"**

Yukiko raised her left hand and a deep violet stream of chakra came out of her hand hitting the ninja in the stomach. The ninja roared in pain, and felt his soul begin to detach itself from his body. The ninja felt his life fading fast, and the last thing he felt was his soul completely detach from his body. Yukiko licked her lips and drew the ninja's soul into her body.

"**That was a refreshing power boost."**

Sakura finally woke out of her stupor.

"Yukiko-San… Is Sasuke-Kun… Really… Dead?"

Yukiko suddenly looked very sad and nodded her head. Sakura broke down and began sobbing. Naruto looked away. While Yukiko furrowed her brow.

"**Sakura-San, I may be able to save him, but I need your help. Come with me."**

Sakura nodded dumbly and got up. She shakily followed Yukiko and Naruto to the remains of the dome. Yukiko hid the sight of Sasuke's body from Sakura and leaned down and checked his body.

'_This is very strange… Parts of him are still alive while other parts of his body are dead… I need to try harder to figure out what's wrong.'_

Yukiko focused more chakra into her eyes and began to see things differently. Her vision turned dark, before seeing the outline of Sasuke and his organs and chakra coils in great detail, as if his skin, muscles and bones didn't exist. If someone could have seen her violet eyes, they would have seen her eyes slowly turn silver.

'_**Congratulations, you just awakened your Bloodline Limit, kitten.'**_

"_Thanks.'_

Yukiko stood up, medical knowledge that would have once seemed foreign to her flooded her mind. She stood up, letting Sakura see Sasuke's body for the first time. He was laying on top of the dome near the centre, most of his blood had poured onto the snow. Sakura threw up, but Yukiko turned to her and snarled.

"**Do you want Sasuke-San to live or not? If you do, then deal with it. I need you to gently move him out of the way for a moment while I prepare for this technique."**

Sakura picked Sasuke up and slowly moved him away. Yukiko took out a brush and ink bottle out of her backpack and began to paint intricate patterns of Kanji on the ground.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back with Katsuro and Kakashi:**

Katsuro turned when he saw the mist disperse.

"Did Isamu…?"

"I can't sense him anymore. So yes, I'd say he's dead."

Katsuro stared wide eyed at Kakashi.

"Didn't I tell you my subordinates would win? Anyone who underestimates us will die. Isamu learnt that the hard way."

"Damn it! How can I, a former member of the Mist's Seven Shinobi Swordmen lose to these idiots!"

At the mention of the former affiliation, Kakashi remembered the reason he had decided to fight Katsuro.

"Speaing of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, I'm sure you remember Hosigake Kisame."

"Oh, I remember him alright. What about him?"

"Do you still keep in contact with him?"

Katsuro just laughed.

"I never want to see his damn face again. He betrayed the other six of us for Akatsuki. Just before we disbanded, we made a solemn promise that if any of us saw him again, we would kill him."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Why are you so interested in him?"

"The goal of Akatsuki is to gather all the demon containers and drain their demons, thereby killing the containers. Two of my subordinates are demon containers, and it is my duty until I can find someone better than me to protect them. Now, will you answer my question?"

"Well, I'd personally love to give you any information that would help in his downfall, but unfortunately the most current information I have is about three years old, which was when he betrayed us. Since then, I haven't talked to, seen, or even heard of him, so I fear my information is more out of date than yours is. I'm sorry I couldn't be of help."

"I see. Thank you."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back with the Rest of Team 7:**

After about ten minutes, Yukiko had painted a very intricate design of Kanji shapes with a human shaped gap in the middle. Yukiko turned to Sakura.

"**Sakura, strip him of all his clothing except his undergarments. I need to paint Kanji on his body to complete this technique's preparations. Once you strip him, place him exactly inside the gap in the middle. Once you have done that, back off. I will need complete focus to perform this technique. Got all that?"**

Sakura nodded and quickly stripped him, and then carefully placed him in the middle of the Kanji pattern. After Sakura had backed of, Yukiko bit her thumb and completed the rest of the Kanji on Sasuke's body in blood. The pattern centred on Sasuke's stomach. Yukiko closed her eyes and began a series of hand seals that continued on for well over a minute. Finally she activated the technique.

"**Healing Type: Grand Healing Technique!"**

The Kanji started to glow green and pulse. Sasuke's body began to spasm, and Sakura tried to stop the technique, but Naruto's chakra hand stopped her. Sakura looked at Naruto pleadingly, but Naruto just shook his head.

"**Trust in Yukiko-Chan. She's probably the only person in the world who can save him now. It's painful for me too watching Sasuke in pain like this, but you just have bare with it."**

Sakura started crying again, looking at her love interest in intense pain. Finally, the Kanji let forth a blinding flash of emerald green light and started being drawn in towards Sasuke's stomach. The kanji started forming a swirl before condensing into Sasuke's navel and disappearing. Yukiko collapsed and Naruto ran over to Yukiko and held her in his arms. He lowered his head to hers and gave her a light kiss that lasted for several minutes. Sakura ran over to Sasuke and was checking on him. He showed no signs of life and Sakura put her head on his chest and cried. Unknown to Sakura, Sasuke was slowly coming to.

"Sakura… you're heavy…"

"Sasuke-Kun? Sasuke-Kun! Sasuke-Kun! You're alive! Thank god! Naruto! Yukiko! Sasuke-Kun's alive!"

"**That's good to hear. By the way, what happened to Katsuro?"**

A voice came from behind them.

"I just managed to finish him off. It seems our mission is-"

"Finished? I hardly think so. You still have us to deal with!"

Everyone turned to see a large group of thugs. In front of the thugs was a very obese man. Kakashi scowled.

"So, you get your ninja tools to do all the ground work then you take care of us in our weakened state with common thugs? Disgusting."

"Eh, it may be disgusting, but it's effective."

"**So you're the bastard who hired Katsuro and his little friend? I have some serious issues with you."**

Everyone turned to where the voice came from. Naruto was barely containing his anger, and Kenta just smiled and laughed at him.

"What do you want you monster? It's because of freaks like you that-"

Naruto had heard enough. He bent down to stand on his hands and feet, and began running on all fours at Kenta. Kenta realised if he didn't get behind his militia, he would be killed.

"What are you idiots waiting for? Kill him!"

"YEAH!"

"**SHI-NE!"**

One of the thugs had no idea that he was about to die and called out to Naruto cockily.

"What could you hope to do by yourself you little monster? You could never-"

The thug didn't get to finish his sentence because Naruto had slit his throat with his chakra hand without even stopping. The others realised they were as good as dead and started to retreat. Naruto all this time had kept his sights on Kenta. Naruto approached Kenta, who was scared out of his mind.

"Don't… Don't come any closer!"

"**This is for making Yukiko-Chan's life a living hell! SHI-NE!"**

Naruto extended his chakra hand out and speared Kenta through the chest.

"**Feel Yukiko-Chan's pain as I send you to hell."**

"Damn… you…"

With that, Kenta slumped onto Naruto's hand. Naruto withdrew his hand and gloated over his kill. The thugs were considering mass jumping him. Surely he couldn't kill all of them. As if reading their minds, Naruto turned to them.

"**Do you seriously think I couldn't kill all of you? Would you like to try?"**

This destroyed the last of the gang's resolve, and they fled the village hoping to escape persecution. Naruto felt the chakra armour dissipate, the last of his demon chakra was used up. He fell to the ground panting before fainting. Kakashi went over to him to check his pulse. Kakashi smiled as he realised he'd only passed out. Kakashi picked Naruto up and took him back to the group.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The next morning in Hiroshi's Mansion:**

In the meeting room, Kakashi and Team 7 were patiently awaiting Hiroshi's arrival. After about two minutes of waiting, Hiroshi entered the room followed by Hideaki. Hiroshi sat on the other side of the table, and Hideaki sat behind him and too the left.

"Kakashi and Team 7, thanks to you, our country has once again attained peace. You have no idea how thankful our village is for your actions, on behalf of our village, I thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

"It was no problem, Hiroshi-Sama."

"Oh and did you find out if Akatsuki was involved in this mission after all?"

"Thankfully, the last time Katsuro had had any interaction or even heard of Kisame was about three years ago, and he said that if he did have any current information on him, he would have gladly give it to me, as it seems the other six of the Shinobi Swordsmen detest him enough to give any help they can as long as it aids in his downfall. I could see he meant it too, so the risk of Kisame appearing was minimal to non existent."

"I see, so it seems your mission is now complete."

Naruto remembered Isamu's Bloodline Limit and wanted to know more about it.

"Excuse me, Hiroshi-Sama."

"Hmmm? What is it, Naruto-San?"

"Isamu used a Bloodline Limit on us, claiming it was a Bloodline Limit native to the Snow. I think it was called… Snow Prison of Hell… Or something like that…"

When Naruto mentioned the name, Hiroshi's eyes widened.

"Naruto-San, are you absolutely sure that was the name of the technique?"

"Yes, I'm certain."

Hiroshi shook his head in disbelief.

"Naruto-San, the last known user of that Bloodline Limit died almost 25 years ago. It was the only Bloodline Limit the Snow had. This news is very saddening. To think that the last one who possessed the Bloodline Limit has now passed away, is a very disheartening fact…"

Naruto felt bad for killing the last of the clan, but then remembered some other words Isamu's words.

"Oh! I just remembered something else he said! He said that there were few in the world who still possess the Bloodline Limit. Doesn't that mean that there are others still alive who have it?"

Hiroshi brightened visibly.

"From what he said, it seems that way. Oh well, there's no use pondering this. I'm sure you're all desperate to return home."

"Well, I wouldn't mind going home…"

Everyone just smiled in understanding at Naruto's admission, and so they discussed a few other things before retiring back to their rooms to pack up.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Yukiko's and Naruto's Room:**

Naruto and Yukiko had just got back to their room and were immediately absorbed in the safe they had recovered from Yukiko's apartment. Yukiko looked at the seal on the safe. She had never seen anything like it from the Snow, in fact, the only place she had seen anything like it was on Naruto's box. Yukiko turned to Naruto.

"Neh, Naruto-Kun, doesn't this look really similar to the seal on your box?"

"Hey! You're right Yukiko-Chan! Hold on, I'll see what I can do."

Naruto activated his 'Seal Eye' and looked at the composition of the seal. He noticed a lot of similarities between the seal on his box and the seal keeping this safe shut. He looked at the individual parts of the seal and worked out that it needed three hand seals to disengage the seal. He puzzled over the seals needed for over a minute before Yukiko started getting worried.

"Naruto-Kun? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out what hand seals I need to do to dispel the seal. Well, I've figured out the first one. Give me a few more minutes to work out the remaining two hand seals…"

"Ok."

Naruto just sat there, knowledge that he never knew he had flying through his brain. His brain settled on another hand seal and he compared it to the energy given off by the second level of the seal on the safe. They matched perfectly. Two down, one to go.

"I just got the second one. One more to go."

Yukiko looked very happy as Naruto began to cycle through different seals again. The last one however was proving to be fairly elusive. Yukiko noticed Naruto was beginning to sweat from exertion. She immediately felt bad for making him do this.

"Naruto-Kun, it's ok, you can stop now. Do it when you're more rested-"

"I'm fine, Yukiko-Chan, let me keep going."

"Ok…"

Yukiko just stared into his eyes marvelling at how hard he was trying for her.

Just when Naruto had gone through the last of his knowledge of both hand and carved seals, and was almost ready to give up, he remembered that what could be in this safe was as important, if not more to Yukiko as his father's box was for him.

'_God damn it! There's got to be something I'm missing here! Focus! I can't let Yukiko-Chan down!'_

Yukiko who was still staring into Naruto's eyes suddenly started to notice another small blue triangle form on the opposite side of Naruto's pupil from the first one.

"Naruto-Kun… I think you've just activated level 2 of the 'Seal Eye'…"

"Yeah, I know. A whole bunch more knowledge of seals just flooded my brain. I'm going through the new seals. Give me another minute or two and I should have it."

"Thank you so much Naruto-Kun. You don't know how much this means to me."

"No, I think I do. It's the same as my father's box is to me, I'm guessing. Anyways, I need to concerntraite on this for a sec."

"Oh, Gomen…"

"No problem."

Naruto was silent for about another minute and a half before his face brightened noticeably.

"Got it. I finally got the last one."

Yukiko squealed in joy and jumped on top o Naruto and pinned him to the floor giving him a bear hug. Unknown to Yukiko, Naruto was having extreme difficulty breathing, and started to turn blue in the face.

"Yukiko-Chan… Can't… Breathe!"

Yukiko jumped off Naruto and smiled sheepishly. Naruto began gasping for air before allowing his breathing to return to normal.

"Gomen, Naruto-Kun. I got a bit carried away…"

"No problem. Now, I'm going to activate and dispel the seal. I want you to stand by the door just in case this seal acts like the seal on my father's box does when it's activated incorrectly."

"Hai!"

Yukiko walked over to the door and opened it ready to run out at a moments notice. Naruto turned back to the safe and performed the first hand seal. A very intricate purple seal on the safe's door appeared. Naruto performed the second hand seal and the seal changed colours from purple to green. Naruto looked at Yukiko and she nodded. Naruto turned back to the safe and performed the last seal. The seal once again changed colour from green to pure white. The seal gave a small flash and then disappeared. Naruto dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Yukiko ran over to him and held him in her arms. Naruto smiled and put a hand on her cheek.

"I did it. It's open."

Yukiko smiled and began crying tears of joy and kissed Naruto long and hard, who certainly didn't object.

"Yukiko-Chan, what are you waiting for? Go see what's in it."

"Hai."

Yukiko began to walk towards the safe. She bent down and slowly opened the door. Inside was nothing but a single piece of paper and a photo. Yukiko picked up the piece of paper in shaking hands and began to read.

'_Dear Yukiko,_

_If you are reading this, it means that you have met up with an Uzumaki with at least the second level of their Bloodline Limit, most likely one by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. I'm sorry that we forced you to have such a harsh life, but there was no escaping it. Several years before your birth, warning reached us of a large demon cat that was… forming if you will, on the edge of town. A few of the smarter elders of the village decided to send member of each clan and some select others away from the village, just in case the cat turned hostile when it woke up. A few days before you were due to be born, the cat, who identified herself as Nibi, the two tailed queen of the cats began ravaging the Village of the Snow. We silently thanked the few people who had taken the precaution of sending those few away from the village. We knew that our village's forces were no match for her, and so we called for outside help. Most villages completely ignored us, however, the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha told us he was experiencing a very similar situation in his own village. He said that there was only one solution to the problem, and it would require a heavy toll. He introduced us to the Shikifuujin, which was a technique he developed himself for his own crisis. He managed to teach us this technique, however we were no where near as strong as he was and no one in the village were able to pull it off by ourselves. The Yondaime created a variation of his technique on the spot that was perfect for our situation. Unfortunately, it required the sacrifice of almost our entire clan. There were only two able to survive the sacrifice. One of them was you, the other was your older brother, Kabuto, who had been one of the people sent away from the village just after he was born. When you were born, you were immediately put in the centre of town, and our clan took up specific points around the village for the technique. Once we managed to lure the cat into position, we drained the cat's soul and sealed it inside you. Just like that, one of the mot prestigious clans in the snow was almost completely wiped out. The only thing I regret was that your mother and I will be unable to personally train you ourselves. We hope you can forgive us for making your life a lonely one._

_Love, _

_Katsu & Natsumi Yakushi._

_P.S: With this letter is a picture of our clan a few years before Kabuto was born. I hope this gives you even a little bit of comfort. Remember, we will always love you and watch over you.'_

After reading that, Yukiko dropped to her knees, dropping the letter and broke down crying. Naruto managed to get enough energy to crawl over to Yukiko and hug her.

"I can guess roughly what that letter said. I'm sorry…"

"It's… Sob … It's ok, Naruto-Kun…"

Just then, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke opened the door to their room trying to find out what was wrong. Kakashi saw the safe open and a letter on the floor next to Yukiko. He could pretty much guess what the letter said.

"So, you just found out abut your past, huh?"

Yukiko slowly nodded before continuing to cry.

"It must have been bad for it to do this to you. All I can say is you have my sympathies. Sakura, Sasuke, let's give them some space. Just letting you guys know, we're leaving in about half an hour. I know this is big, but please be ready to go by then."

"Ok, we'll be ready by then."

Kakashi jut nodded in response and walked out of the room. Sasuke just shook his head and mumbled.

"I'm sorry to hear about that…"

Sakura on the other hand, was much better at helping friends through rough times.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm available whenever you are. Naruto?"

Naruto looked up at the mention of his name.

"Take care of her alright?"

"Don't worry, I will."

With that Sakura walked out the door, closing it behind her, leaving the couple to sort things out.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**An Hour Later at the Entrance to the Snow Village:**

Hiroshi and the rest of the villagers had come to see off their saviours. Kakashi turned to Hiroshi to say one final goodbye.

"Well, it seems everything will slowly return to normal."

"Yes, it's all thanks to you and your students. Once again, Kakashi, we are in your debt."

Kakashi smiled at the comment.

"Ah, don't mention it."

"I'd love for you to stay a bit longer, but that seems unlikely doesn't it?"

"Yeah, my students really want to get back."

"Well, All I can do is wish you all a safe and uneventful journey home."

"Thank you, Hiroshi-Sama."

With that, the villages waved goodbye to the five of them and Team 7 waved back, and they began their three week long journey home.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** OMG! I've finally finished! SCORE! All 33 pages of it! Man, I'm exhausted…

Also, if you think I activated Naruto's level two 'Seal Eye' too quickly, just remember that Sasuke had one eye with the second level of the Sharingan from the moment he first activated it, and the very next episode, both eyes had level two Sharingan when he activated them in his fight with Lee.

Anyways, please keep the votes coming. I put a lot of effort into this chapter and I would be very disappointed if few people R&R'ed it.

Well, until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	10. Chunin Exams Commense!

**A/N:** By god people! I don't know what's come over me, but I just can't stop writing! I at least want to try and get up to Naruto and Kiba's match in the preliminaries ( I hate Kiba, because I think he's even more of an arrogant jackass than Neji is.)

Anyways, I'm going to start righting the first chapter of the Chunin parts. I may not be able to fit the first test in, but I'll try. And trust me, if I can help it, I am NEVER doing a chapter like the last one EVER AGAIN!

Oh BTW, I've decided that due to the fact that Yukiko is Kabuto's younger sister, I'm going to have Kabuto defect back to the leaf. (Take that, you snake bastard! As Naruto would say.) So basically, the main matches will be able to finish entirely. I will work out the specifics later on how the Leaf will be alerted to the invasion.

Also, I found a website dedicated to Uzumaki Naruto called Rokudaime (fitting name, eh?) Anyways, in the 'fun' section, there was a list of things you would apparently never here the characters of Naruto say. By god they weren't kidding. Some of the things in there made me laugh so hard I litterally fell out of my chair crying because they were so funny. My mother actually came upstair to my room to check if I was alright I was laughing so hard. I'll give you some examples:

'NARUTO: "I wuv u Sasuke!" SASUKE:crying "I luv u too!" hugs Naruto'

'SASUKE: dancing and singing "I'm feelin' SEX-AAAAAYY rips shirt off...when I hear you say my name..."'

'SANDAIME: "Sexy no Jutsu!" NARUTO: "DEAR GOD MY EYES!"'

And the best one of all:

'IBIKI: "Waaah, I got a boo-boo!" shows everyone his papercut'

Do you see why I laughed so hard now? Oh, and there's plenty more where that came from. I think with each chapter, I'll post one more example.

Anyways, on with the show!

**(A): **Hyuga Neji (Neji will be owned hardcore, because frankly, I think he's a jackass): 2

**(B): **Rock Lee (A battle to see which is better: The Demonic or Celestial Gates and who can open up more of them, ie a battle of epic proportions): 2

**(C): **Uchiha Sasuke (basically a battle of the Doujutsu to prove which clan has the best Bloodline Limit and which has the most power: The Curse Seal or the Demonic Gates, Chidori or Rasengan): 1

It stands at two for A and B and one for C.

Anyways, I'll get to the point you've all been waiting for.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 9:

The Chunin Exams Commence:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**7 am, Team 7's Training Ground:**

It was a bright sunny morning, and Team Seven were at their training grounds where Kakashi had told them to be at 6:30am for a very important anouncement. Naruto was getting tired of waiting.

"Man, why does Kakashi-Sensei have to be late? Especially when he said he had something really important to tell us?"

Yukiko looked up from her seat at the base of one of the logs.

"There's no use wondering why he'll be here late, we just have to accept the fact that he always has been and always will be."

Just as Yukiko finished her sentence, said man appeared on top of the log she was leaning up against.

"Yo!"

Sakura and Naruto yelled at himas per usual.

"You're late!"

"Ah, my appologies.Today I got lost on the road of life-"

"YOU'VE ALREADY USED THAT EXCUSE!"

"I have? Oh well... Anyways, this may be a bit sudden, but I've nominated you four for the Chunin exams."

"I LOVE YOU KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

With that Naruto lept up and clung onto Kakashi's neck.

"Hey stop. Let go of me..."

The other three just looked on in amusement. Kakashi finally managed to pry Naruto off his neck and place him back on the ground. Kakashi once again turned to continue his message.

"Whether you sign those or not is completely optional. If you chose not to sign them, the others can turn up and compete without you. If you do decide to sign them, please turn up at 4pm tomorrow at room 301. That is all."

With that, Kakashi jumped into a nearby tree and dissapeared. Naruto wanted to go home and sign this as soon as possible, so he turned to Yukiko who also looked at him. They nodded to each other, no need for words to be exchanged. Naruto turned to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Well, Yukiko-Chan and I are going to go home and sign these. We'll see you guys tomorrow at room 301, ok?"

"Bye Naruto, Yukiko-San."

"Later."

With that, Sasuke started home as well. Sakura on the other hand looked a little nervous.

_'I'm not really sure if I want to compete... Kakashi-Sensei did say I don't have to and the others could still go on... I have to think about this...'_

Sakura turned for hime, waging an internal debate on whether or not to enter the exam.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The Uzumaki Residence:**

Naruto opened the door for Yukiko who smiled at the polite gesture before stepping inside to find a pen to sign the application form. Naruto hung his trench coat up next to his dad's one and went to do the same thing Yukiko was doing. Naruto bounded up the stairs, two at a time and went to the desk in their room for a pen. He stopped dead when he saw the box and realised he had forgotten all about it.

"Yukiko-Chan! I completely forgot about my dad's box! Come on, we have to try and open it!"

Yukiko came rushing into the room, suddenly remembering it too She put her application and pen down on the desk and Naruto put the box on the floor in the middle of the room and activated his 'Seal Eye' and began looking at the last seal required. It took him about thirty seconds to find it and then he turned to Yukiko and nodded. She nodded back and began her preparations. Naruto didn't need Kyubi to control his body this time, as he could do the seals himself. He did the first handseal and the seal on the box began to glow. He progressed through his next three handseals without a hitch before turning and nodding at Yukiko. Yukiko did her three hand seals without failure and turned back to Naruto. They both nodded at each other before Naruto performed the final hand seal. A circle that they had not seen before in the middle of the centre circle turned green and the green circles flashed green three times, before bleeding into the middle, filling the whole middle circle green. The green quickly turned to white and the seal let out a small flash of light before dissapearing. Naruto deactivated his 'Seal Eye' and let out a very loud victory yell.

"YATTA!"

Yukiko smiled at her boyfriend's antics before asking him a question.

"Neh, Naruto-Kun?"

"Hmmm? What is it, Yukiko-Chan? I'm guessing you already knew what hand seals to perform to open the seal by yourself. So why did you get me to do those three seals?"

"Remember what I said when we last tried? I said that box is not opening without you, and I meant it."

Yukiko smiled and gathered Naruto into her arms for a kiss.

"You sure know how to treat a woman, don't you Naruto-Kun?"

Naruto just blushed before shaking it off.

"I just do what comes naturally."

"Hah. Well, whatever. Why don't you go look through the box? I'm sure there's some cool jutsus you could learn that are still in there."

"Good idea, Yukiko-Chan!"

"Oh and before you get lost in that treasure trove, why don't you sign the application? That way, you can go though that box without having to worry about anything for at least 24 hours."

"You know, Yukiko-Chan, I don't know how I managed to do things on time before I met you."

"Ha ha. I'm guessing you probably didn't."

"That's not very nice, Yukiko-Chan..."

"That's true, gomen."

"No I'm sorry kiss?"

Yukiko let out a sigh.

"Fine, I'll give you an ' I'm sorry' kiss."

"Jeez, you make it sound like it's a chore, not a pleasure..."

"Enough with the guilt trip, seriously. Here."

With that, Yukiko brought a hand to Naruto's cheek and brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

"Happy now?"

"Yup!"

"Good. I'm going to go do some grocery shopping, ok? I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Ok! Catch you later!"

"Bye, Naruto-Kun!"

Naruto turned his attention back to the box and began shuffling though the chest of secrets.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**About 3 Hours Later:**

Naruto had almost gotten to the bottom of the box when he saw a particularly interesting scroll. It was a sky blue scroll with the label 'Rasengan' Naruto opened it up and began reading the contents, becoming more and more engrossed in it. He'd only been reading it for about 30 seconds however, when Yukiko called out to him from the kitchen.

"Naruto-Kun! I've made us some lunch."

Naruto grumbled and put the scroll in his trowser pocket before going down the stairs into the kitchen. Yukiko was making some sort of rice mixed with vegitables and raw fish, rolled up in seaweed. Naruto thought it smelt delicious, and his stomach agreed. Yukiko laughed and set down a plate of the tiny rolls of food.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, what are these called?"

Yukiko looked at him with astonishment.

"You've never seen Sushi? My god, did you eat ANYTHING but ramen before we moved in here?"

Naruto smiled but Yukiko could had tell she struck a nerve.

"Nah, I never had enough money to buy anything but instant ramen."

"I'm sorry for asking that question Naruto..."

"It's fine. Most people who care about me are amazed I'm even alive when all I survived on was cup ramen for over 12 years."

"Frankly, so am I. I'm more surprised however that you were even able to get out of bed without suffering the effects of malnutrition."

"Mal-what?"

"Malnutruition, Naruto-Kun. Basically, if you eat things that aren't good for you and nothing else, or you don't eat at all, you suffer some pretty serious effects."

"Like what?"

"I'd rather not talk about them over a meal, Naruto-Kun. They aren't pretty to say the least."

"Oh."

"Anyways, eat up."

"Ok then. Itdakimasu!"

Naruto took his first bite of sushi and chomped on it a few times before his eyes lit up.

"Man, Yukiko-Chan! This stuff is great! I like this more than anything else you've cooked so far!"

Yukiko smiled at Naruto.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you teach me how to make sushi sometime?"

Yukiko looked at Naruto in shock before smiling again.

"Sure thing. It's really not that hard to make."

"Cool!"

With that, the two enjoyed a comfortable silence over their meal.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**About Two Hours Later:**

"Naruto-Kun?"

"What is it, Yukiko-Chan?"

"Hokage-Sama just called for me. I'll be back in a while ok?"

"Sure thing."

"See you soon."

"Later, Yukiko-Chan!"

Naruto heared the front door close, and he sat back down on the bed, pulled the Rasengan scroll out of his pocket and reimmersed himself in the scroll's lesson.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Hokage's Office:**

Yukiko had unfortunately had to lie to Naruto. The Hokage hadn't called her, however she had some information she needed to get. She had specifically chosen this time to enter the Hokage's office because he was meeting with the village elders to finalise their plans for the Chunin exams. Yukiko knew going in the normal way would be far too risky, so she got ontop of the Hokag Tower and found a ventilation shaft to follow. She had a fair idea of where she was going. She was about three quarters of the way to where the ventilation duct that fed fresh air to the Hokage's room should be when she heard the voices of three old people. Two of them, she didn't recognise, but the third she recognised instantly as the Hokage's. She forgot her mission for a second and listened in to the conversation.

"Ok, so we have made an exception for Hatake Kakashi's Team Seven to allow all four of them to enter. Do you have any issues that need to be discussed?"

"Yes, I want to go over the older applicants again. Something doesn't seem right about one of the teams..."

"Not this again! What is wrong with that team from the Hidden Grass Village?"

"No, not that one. I mean Yakushi Kabuto's team."

At the mention of the name, Yukiko stiffened up and muffled a gasp.

"Hmm? What's wrong with his team?"

"Well, he has entered the exam seven times now, and he still hasn't passed."

"What's so unusual about that?"

"The fact that he has had seven attempts at the exams isn't what worries me. What does is how he lost the exams."

"What do you mean, Sarutobi?"

"Every single one of those seven times he's entered, he's given up."

"What? What do you mean given up? Was he forced to?"

"No, that's what irks me the most. All seven failures he willingly gave up of his own free accord before he had to fight any one on one matches."

"I see why you wanted to go over that. That does seem very suspicious. We will look into it. Is there anything else you would like to discuss with us, Sarutobi?"

"No, I think that was all."

"Very well then, we won't keep you busy. Rest assured, we weill have our findings on Kabuto and his team on your desk by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you. Is there anything else you would like to bring to my attention while this meeting is still in session, Homura, Koharu?"

"No, we have discussed everything that needs attention."

"Very well. This meeting is adjurned."

Yukiko knew she had to act fast. She hadn't meant to get so caught up in the conversation, but her brother's name had completely mesmurised her. She knew she had at most two minutes to get into the Hokage's office, get what she needed and get out. She wouldn't be able to get everything she wanted, and she would probably only have time to look at the Hokage's desk. She looked down through another grate and saw her target. She quietly pulled the grate out of it's position and jumped down into the room. She rushed over to the Hokage's desk. On it she saw three pieces of paper that caught her attention. They were what the contents of the exams were going to be! She also noticed who each examiner was going to be. She looked over them, remembering everything she could when she heard the door to the room click, alerting her instantly that it was being unlocked. She froze. She'd been caught. However, fate decided to smile on her today, and she heared muffled conversation on the other side of the door. She sighed in relief and jumped back into the hole in the roof, covering it with the grate and moving silently through the ducts until she reached the roof. Once she was there, she replaced the outside grate and got home as fast as she could.

At about the time that Yukiko had reached the roof, the Hokage had finished his conversation with a Chunin that had come to give the Hokage a report. The Hokage dismissed the Chunin and stepped inside the room. He walked around his desk and sat in his big leather chair. He sniffed the air, trying to figure out what the strange scent was that he could smell. He eventually settled on the fact that it didn't mask anything harmful and settled down to get back to his work, not noticing that anyone had been in the room since he left.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back at the Uzumaki Residence:**

Naruto was just beginning to understand the concept of how the Rasengan was supposed to work and was about to read the first step on how to learn it when he heard Yukiko burst in through the front door and run up the stairs. She appeared at the front door and Naruto saw she was sweating and panting heavily. Naruto looked up at her questioningly and all he got for a reply was:

"We have to see Sasuke-San and Sakura-San. NOW!"

Naruto could sense the urgency in Yukiko's voice and nodded. He slipped the Rasengan scroll into his pants pocket and ran to the front door to collect his coat. Yukiko was only a step behind him. When they got outside, Yukiko realised it would be quicker to split up and meet somewhere.

"Naruto-Kun, can you go and get Sasuke-San? I'll get Sakura-San. Meet back here when you get him."

"But what do I tell him? He'll just shrug me off if I come telling him that you want to see him and don't give a reason."

"Tell him this:"

Yukiko leaned in and whispered in Naruto's ear and told him what she had seen in the Hokage's office. Naruto's eyes grew wider with each word she said. Finally, Yukiko finished and leant back.

"Got that?"

"Yeah! I'll get him now!"

"Good, let's go."

With that, both of them ran off in opposite directions. Naruto heading up Teal Drive to the Uchiha estate while Yukiko ran towards the middle class district of the village.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Uchiha Estate:**

Sasuke had been quietly reading a book on the history of the Sharingan when he heard a loud banging on the door. Sasuke grumbled something and put the book down before walking downstairs to the front door. When he got to the landing in between the flights of stairs, the banging came again. Sasuke mumbled something about patience being a virtue and opened the door to see a very extatic looking Naruto.

"What the hell do you need that's so urgent?"

"Sasuke! Yukikowentintothehokagesofficeandsawwhotheexaminerswhereandwhateachexamwas!"

Sasuke just looked at Naruto as if he had spoken another language.

"Can you repeat that please?"

"Yukikowentintothe-"

"I meant in a way that I can actually understand."

Yukiko managed to get into the old man's office and she saw what each exam was going to be and who the examiner will be! She even said that one examiner had put down the secret to passing his test on the paper! We need to talk about this!"

Sasuke immedaitely looked very interested.

"Where are we meeting?"

"At our place!"

"Where's that?"

"67 Teal Drive!"

Sasuke looked dumbfounded.

_'Since when did Naruto own a house on this street?'_

"What are you waiting for Sasuke? Let's go!"

"Sure. Lead the way."

With that, both boys ran back to the Uzumaki Residence.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Haruno Household:**

Yukiko had just told Sakura practically the same thing, although in a much more... Subtle way. The two girls were also making their way back after Sakura told her mother that she was going out with a friend until after dark. Once they got back to the Uzumaki Residence, Sakura looked at the house in confusion.

_'How the hell could these two afford a house like THAT?'_

Sakura and Yukiko keept running up to the front door step, where Yukiko pulled out a key and used it to open the front door. The girls raced up to the bedroom to see both boys waiting there. Both girls came into the room and closed the door. Naruto had already drawn the curtains. They needed maximum security for this meeting. As soon as Sakura sat down on the desk chair, Yukiko placed her hands on the wall and muttered something that sounded like "Sound Barrier no Jutsu." Sasuke looked a bit skeptical.

"Isn't that going a bit over the top?"

"Sasuke-San, what I'm about to tell you only four people in the entire world know that I'm sure of. They are the examiners and the Hokage. We can't afford to take any chances."

"Well, why don't you tell us about what you saw?"

"Ok, basically, there is going to be three exams. The first exam is a written one."

Naruto gulped. Sakura brightened.

_'This exam isn't looking so bad after all.'_

Yukiko continued with her explination.

"However, this is no ordinary written test. Sakura and I will be able to answer the test, but anyone less than a genius will be unable to answer the questions."

"They're THAT hard? Oh man, I'm totally screwed..."

"There's more. If one person fails, the whole team does."

Suddenly, Sakura and Sasuke glared at Naruto, who cringed further.

"There's still more however."

"What?"

"This is where we will win. The test will be watched over by a panel of Chunin that are there to stop people cheating."

"How will that let us win?"

"Because, the rule system is set up to ENCOURAGE cheating."

"NANI!"

"The rule system states that each person has ten points to begin with. With each incorrect answer you get, or each attempt at cheating you are caught for will have points deducted from you. If you reach 0 points, you and your team fail, reguardless of whether your team mates still have points."

Sakura was the first to catch on.

"So it's not really a test of knowledge, it's actually a test of information gathering skills..."

"Correct. I also remember seeing that sitting somewhere amongst the Genin will be Chunin in disgise who know all the answers and are there for the simple reason of being the targets of the data gathering."

"So all we've got to do is find these Chunin and copy them?"

"You can Sasuke. I'm confident in both mine and Sakura's abilities to answer the questions without cheating."

"Guys, you're forgetting something."

They all turned to Naruto.

"I don't have any methods of cheating. Sasuke has his Sharingan which he can use to copy others, while you two are smart enough to answer them on your own."

"I have already come up with a solution."

"Really? What is it?"

"I have been creating an small scale version of Mokuton: Jyukai Koudan that I can use multiple times instead of just once. I managed to create a version in my studies called Mokuton: Strangling Vines no Jutsu. Basically, it creates small tendrills of wood that grow out from a central hub where the plant has a brain of sorts, although it's a very primitive one. Baiscally, I am able to control all of the vines that shoot off just by thinking. I also realised that I can make the plant's brain copy the movement of one of it's vines and make mirror movements on all the other vines too."

Sakura realised the implications of this.

"That means that you could attach the vines to our hands and get the vines to copy one person writing and move the other people's hands to mirror their writing..."

"Exactly."

"Wow, that's awesome, Yukiko-Chan! We'll past the first test for sure!"

"Ok, now there's one more problem with the first exam."

"What's that?"

"The first exam consists of ten questions. The first nine are on the paper, but the tenth one is given with fifteen minutes to go. However, the tenth question is a trick question."

"EH?"

"Basically, it's purpose is to test whether you're willing to take a big gamble."

"Care to clarify that?"

"Basically, the tenth question has a few conditions. One: You have to decide if you're going to take it or not."

"What the hell? Of course we're going to take it!"

"Would you please let me finish, Naruto-Kun?"

"Gomen..."

"No problem. Ok, if you decide not to take it, you and your team fail immediately. However, if you take the question and get it wrong, you will be banned from ever taking another Chuning exam."

The three gulped in unison.

"However, the catch that we're not supposed to know is that the tenth question is actually the decision to take the 'Tenth Question' or not. If we agree to take it, we'll pass."

"Eh? What kind of a question is that?"

"I don't know, I don't remember what the reason for that was, I guess we'll just have to wait for the tenth queston to end to find out the examiner's reasons."

"Ok that's the first test. What about the second?"

"The second is a hell of a lot tougher than the first. Basically..."

The four of them continued discussing tactics and stratigies well into the night. By the time they'd finished, Everyone was very confident about the exams. Even Sakura had had her doubts blown away. They eventually finished, and Yukiko dispelled the sound barrier on the room. Everyone filed out of the room and to the front door. Sakura and Sasuke waved at the couple before walking their separate ways. Yukiko turned back inside and shut the front door.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**2:30 pm On the Streets of Konoha:**

Naruto was going to meet with the rest of his team outside Naruto was absorbed in a personal daydream when he noticed a yellow box with a rock texture painted onto it and eye holes in the front of it.

_I'm REALLY not in the mood for this...'_

Naruto turned around and called out in a bored voice.

"Konohamaru, do you still think I'm stupid enough to fall for that trick? If it didn't work the first time, what makes you think it'll work after that?"

"Ah just what I expected from my greatest rival!"

The box exploded into three different plumes of smoke. Three kids appeared out of the clouds of smoke, coughing vigerously. Konahamaru muttered something about 'too much gunpowder' before standing up.

"Leader! Play ninja with us!"

Naruto just turned around and kept walking.

"Konahamaru, I'm going to take the Chunin exams now. I don't have time. Maybe some other time."

Konahamaru pouted, turned around and began walking. He'd only taken about two steps when he hit something solid. He fell back rubbing his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw a very tall kid in black with make up on. The kid in black picked up Konahamaru by the collar of his shirt and held him to his face. A rather cute looking girl in a short pink dress with fishnet leggings and a battle fan strapped to her back seemed to take a mild interest in proceedings.

"You should watch where you're going you little punk."

"Oi, Kankuro. We shouldin't cause any problems until the Chunin exams. Just put the runt down and let's get going."

"Why? I want to have a little bit of fun with this kid."

Konahamaru kicked the ninja in the chest, which earnt a little grunt from the 'makeup boy' as Konohamaru had decided to call him.

"That hurt you brat."

With that, The ninja lifted up Konahamaru above him and prepared to kill him. The ninja's companion, just sighed.

"I'm not going to be held responsible for what happens..."

Moegi screamed, which caught Naruto's attention. Naruto used his Hiraishin no Jutsu to get next to Kankuro and grabbed his arm. Kankuro looked at the blonde boy in suprise.

"I suggest you drop him if you don't want to get hurt."

"What are you going to do? Break my arm?"

"I could if you want me to."

With that, Naruto started applying pressure on Kankuro's arm. Kankuro gasped in pain and dropped Konahamaru, who ran over to his friends and cowered.

"Let me warn you of something, make-up boy. If you EVER touch one of my friends again, I'll do more than apply a little bit of pressure to your arms got it?"

Kankuro became enraged at this slur to his clan's markings. He pulled his arm free and started pulling the object off his back.

"That's it you little twit, I'm going to-"

"Kankuro, that's enough."

Both boys and the girl turned to the source of the voice. There, standing attached to the underside of a tree's branch was a boy. The boy had jet black circles around his eyes, and carried a gourd on his back. Naruto noticed a very dark aura around him. Naruto smiled. If he didn't know any better, this kid was another demon container. Kankuro started to argue with the boy.

"But Gaara! They started it-"

"Shut up! Or I'll kill you!"

The boy flinched. Naruto turned back to the boy known as Gaara. Gaara turned to him.

"I appologise for my siblings behaviour."

"Don't mention it. By the way, your name is Garra right?"

"Yes it is. I'm also interested in your name."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Also, I can tell you're a demon container."

The boy and the girl stared at this boy. How could he make such an open accusation and not be killed in an instant?

"Hmmm. I can sense that you are one too. Let me guess... Kyubi is your tenant?"

"That's right. Kudging by your aura and level of chakra, would I be correct in assuming your tenant is the Shukaku?"

"That is correct. I look forward to seeing you in the Chunin exams. Perhapse we may even be able to fight? I think you are the only one in this exam who is even worth my time."

"That's not entirely true."

"Hmm? Are there other demon containers?"

"Yup, one other one. My girlfirend."

"Hmmm, interesting. Which deomon is her tenant, may I inquire?"

"Nibi, two tailed queen of the cats."

"Ah, so there a two worthy foes. I look forward to seeing you and your girlfriend in the exam. Do not dissapoint me."

"I expect the same decency from you."

"I never fail to deliver. Until next we meet, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Later, Gaara."

Gaara formed a single hand seal and dissapeared in a swirl of sand. Kankuro and Temari were shocked that anyone had managed to challege Gaara in a verbal engagement, and not forfeit their lives. Naruto turned to the two and smiled.

"Would I be correct inthat you are wondering why he didn't kill me for challenging him?"

They both nodded.

"Because I'm the same as him. I have a monster sealed inside of me, and so does my girlfriend. However, both of our tenants are far more powerful than his. My girlfriend's is twice as powerful, while mine is over nine times as powerful."

The two flinched and cowered.

"Don't worry though. Both me and my girlfriend don't kill unless we absolutely have to. We're pretty much gentle giants, although if someone hurts a friend of ours, we see that as a good enough reason to harm, or possibly even kill. By the way, your forhead protectors say you're from the sand right?"

The two both nodded.

"Then you're here for the Chunin exams?"

"Ha.. Hai..."

"Well what do you know, the man has a voice! I never did get your names. Who are you?"

The black clothed ninja awoke from his stupor.

"My name is Kankuro."

Naruto turned to the young woman.

"And what's your name?"

The woman blushed slightly.

_'He's actually kind of cute...'_

"My name is Temari..."

"Well it was good meeting you, Kankuro, Temari. I hope to see you two and Gaara in the exams. Ja ne!"

With that, Naruto used his Hiraishin no Jutsu to get to where his team had agreed to meet, leaving Konahamaru and his friends as well as the siblings from the sand there to wonder what the hell they had just seen.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**3:30 pm The Next Day Outside Room 301:**

Team Seven had entered the mass of Genins crouding around Room 301, and pushed their way to the front. They got there just in time to see a guy in a green spandex suit with a bowl cut and abnormally large eye brows get kicked back by the two kids guarding the door.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"Kid, you should be thankful. The Chunin exam is full of peril. If you can't stand up to us, you've got no chance to get past this test, let alone make it to the second test."

"How cruel..."

Naruto saw that the sign that said 'Room 301' had a genjutsu surrounding it.

"We may not be able to pass you, but why would we want to? You're not really guarding room 301."

People turned to see Naruto with a confident smirk on his face.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"The hell if I know."

"He's lost it."

Sasuke noticed it as well. He looked to see that Yukiko and Sakura had spotted it too.

"What Naruto said is true. And considering that his Genjutu detection ability is the worst on our team, I think that says something about your skill level. Sakura. You're Genjutsu detection and know-how are the best on our team. You must have spotted it the second we walked in."

Sakura looked taken aback by Sasuke's appraisal of her abilities.

_'Thank you, Sasuke-Kun...'_

"Yeah, I noticed it the second I laid my eyes on it. That technique is the equivalent of a first year academy student's Genjutsu. You really should have tried harder."

The two boys guarding the door smirked.

"At least it seems one team is up to scratch. They're right. This is not room 301, or 3 anything for that matter."

The sign began to warp until it revealed the number 201. Naruto smirked and led his team forwards, however, one of the two guards took the liberty to attack Naruto, who replied in fashion. Just as their kicks were about to meet however, our favourite green spandex wearing taijutsu master jumped in between and stopped the kicls with his hands. A murmour went through the croud as the boy's team mates stepped forward. The obvious leader of the team, a white eyed boy in a beige coloured jacket with long black hair stepped up to his team mate.

"What part of the plan 'stay under the radar' did you not understand Lee? Lee's other team mate, a black haired brown eyed girl noticed Lee's facial expression, and just slapped her forehead groaning. Lee had a very intense gaze on his face which was directed at Sakura. He walked over to her, and smiled showing of his perfect white teeth which gleemed.

"I'm Rock Lee. So you're Sakura... Let's go out together! I'll protect you till I die!"

Sakura looked nonplussed, and just turned around and began walking.

"No... Way... You're lame..."

Naruto smirked and snickered. However, he soon noticed that Lee's team mate had approached him.

"I'm interested in your name. Who are you?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I can guess by your eyes that you are a member of the Hyuga clan."

"Indeed, I am Hyuga Neji. I look forward to seeing you in the exams."

Naruto decided he'd had enough of his cocky attitude and decided to play by his own game.

"You may be, but I'm not. Frankly, there are only two people I will even consider facing seriously in this exam. And you're not one of them. Now if you don't mind, I'm going ahead with the rest of my team mates to 301 to take the test."

Neji held his anger in check as the boy walked off. The female member of their team sided up to Neji and decided to try and take his mind off it before he did something stupid.

"Oi, Neji. Let's just go and take the exam already. I'm sure we'll meet up with Naruto later."

"You're right Ten-Ten. Oi, Lee, we're going."

"You guys go on ahead."

"Hmm?"

"There's something I have to test."

They shook their heads, but they let Lee go. Lee started after Team 7.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Several Minutes later and Several Rooms Away:**

Team Seven were walking towards the assigned room for the test. However they were stopped by Lee.

"Hey guy with the blue eyes."

Team Seven turned at once. Naruto was the one who answered.

"What do you want fuzzy brows?"

"Will you fight me here and now?"

Naruto just turned and kept waling.

"Are you ignoring me?"

"No, I'm not. If we were to fight here, this entire building would be destroyed. If you want to fight me, then fight me in a proper match."

"I see. Well, until such a time, I will wait patiently for a match with you."

"Good. See you in the exam."

With that, Team Seven walked around the last corner to room 301. They were greeted by a suprise visit from Kakashi.

"Hmm? Kakashi-Sensei? What are you doing here?"

"Ah good. It seems that all four of you came."

"Well duh all four of us came. As if we'd miss this!"

"If Sakura had decided to refuse to come, I would have had to send you guys away. You're the only team of four in this exam, and so you are required to endure all the rules that the other three man cells are only you guys have the rules modified so that all four of you had to turn up to enter."

"Then why did you say we were free to decide whether we entered or not?"

"Well, because if I had told you that all four had to enter to even sit for the first test, you would have put pressure on each other to turn up. But it seems you all came here willingly, so good job. Now, go show them what you four are capeable of."

"Heh, this'll be a snap."

With that they pushed open the doors to be greeted by a crowd of staring faces. Sasuke and Yukiko looked slightly fearful, while Naruto and Yukiko just smirled, knowing that there was possibly two other people in this room that could even remotely match their power. Sasuke suddenly felt the weight of a girl on his back.

"You're late, Sasuke-Kun! I haven't seen you in a while, so my excitement has been building up."

"Get away from her Ino-Pig!"

"Well well, if it isn't forhead girl. It seems to be getting bigger every day."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

A new voice came from off to their left.

"Would you guys do us a favour, and shut up?"

Everyone turned to see Shikamaru and Choji walking up to them. Naruto used his usual label for them.

"Seems the idiot trio made it here too."

"Don't call us that."

Another new voice came from in front of them.

"Yahoo! Found you!"

The voice came from Kiba. Next to him on his left was Hinata, and to his right was Shino. Hinata whispered a greeting.

"H... Hello..."

Naruto took a sweeping glance and smirked.

"So, the rookie 9 all made it. It'se been what... 5 years since Konoha rookies took the exams? It doesn't matter. By the time we get to the third exam, the losers will be weeded out. That means most of the chumps behind you."

Everyone of the rookie 9 except Yukiko cringed. Everyone of those 'chumps' just glared death threats at Naruto. Some even directed killer intent. He shurgged it off and sent a short pulse of Kyubi intensified killer intent back at the whole room making everyone but Yukiko and Gaara flinch.

"As I said. Chumps."

A new voice came from off too their left.

"Hey you guys. You should probably shut up."

Naruto shot back a retort.

"Who are you to tell us to shut up?"

"You could say a friend."

Sakura wanted to know who this guy was.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Kabuto."

With that name, Yukiko and Naruto flinched. Everyone else just stared at the two.

"Is something wrong with my name?"

Yukiko spoke just above a whisper.

"Kabuto... What is your surname?"

"Hmmm? It's Yakushi. Why?"

Naruto turned to Yukiko and nodded. Yukiko stepped up to Kabuto and held out a letter to him.

"Read this."

Kabuto took the letter warily. He began to read it. When he finished, he just looked up at Yukiko in confusion.

"Was this document falsified?"

"No. I got it from a safe in the remnants of my apartment in the hidden Village of the Snow."

"So, it seems I do have family left alive after all. This news is quite... Unexpected... To say the least..."

Sakura spoke up.

"Who is he, Yukiko?"

"My niisan..."

Everyone in the room just looked shocked. A family reunion... in the middle of the Chunin exam? Before they could debate it further, a loud explosion of smoke appeared in the front of the class room.

"I hate to break up the touching family reunion, but the hour of reckoning has come!"

The cloud dissapated to reveal the examiner for the first test and a row of Chunin behind him.

"Thanks for waiting. I am Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the Chunin selection exam's first test. Let me warn you of one thing. There will be no fighting without the permission of an examiner. However, even if you are authorised to engage, you are forbidden to kill. Those pigs who disobey me will be failed immedaitely. Do I make myself clear?"

Most of the Genins were now quivering in fear.

"We will now begin the first test in the Chunin exam. However, instead of your current seating arrangements, you will come up the front and take one of these number tabs and sit in the seat you were assigned. We will now begin handing out the test."

Everyone got their number tabs and took their assigned seats. Luckily, all of Team Seven was seated on the left side of the room. Yukiko was glad, this would make things easier. However, she could not get her mind off the fact that she had finally met her niisan.

_**'Just concerntraite on the task at hand kitten. You'll get plenty of time to talk to him later.'**_

_'You're right, as always Nibi.'_

_**'Ha ha ha, you flatter me to much. Now, if I'm not mistaken, the examiner is about to tell us the rules.'**_

"Listen up punks. There are many important rules to this test. I will not allow questions, however I will write the rules on the board. I will say these rules once and once only, so listen carefully."

Ibiki went trough the rules, and they were exactly what Yukiko had told them the day before. Team Seven zoned out, and waited for the test to begin. Finally, the examiner stopped explaining the rules, and turned to the Genins.

"The exam will last one hour. BEGIN!"

The sound of paper being turned over and pencils touching paper could be heard throughout the room. As according to plan, each of Team Seven's members wrote their name then tapped their pencils once each on the table to signify they were ready. Yukiko then put her hands under the tablend began forming hand seals.

_'Mokuton: Strangling Vines no Jutsu!'_

When she said those words in her mind, the part of the table she had touched began to form a quivering mass of jelly like substance. It quickly solidified and tendrils began reaching out in the areas she directed them. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura felt their hands being encompassed by the vines. The vines gave a few test pulses which made all four ninjas contract their hands. Yukiko sent another pulse, although this time, it was only felt by Sakura. This was the signal that Sakura would be doing the work. Sakura immediately began writing, the rest of her team mates mirroring her writing. They were not the only ones cheating however, as Hyuga Neji had his Byakugan activated and was writing madly while looking at one spot intensly. Gaara sent his third eye to copy off someone else. Suddenly, A kunai flew past Naruto's head and struck the paper of the guy directly behind him.

"Wha... What is the meaning of this?"

"You've been caught cheating five times. Get your team mates and get out."

The Genin's team members got up, none too happy tht they had lost because of their team mate's blazen cheating attempts. From them on, numbers were regulalrly called out. Sakura clenched her had, showing that she was ready to start writing again. The others all took their hand positions and the writing continued. Soon after, Team Seven had finished. Ino had been waiting for this moment however. She began to cast her technique. However, she felt a wave of killer intent. She looked momentarily taken aback before going for another attempt. Again she met with a wave of killer intent, this one much larger than before. Ino eventually gave up. She shook her head, indicating to her tem mates that their plan had failed. After the alotted time was up, Ibiki addressed the remaining Genins.

"Ok it's time for the final question. First of all though, you have to decide whether or not you want to take it. Team Seven just looked at each other, nodded and went to sleep. This did not go unnoticed by Ibiki.

"Oi! You four punks! Do you think you can afford to slack off at a time like this?"

Naruto raised his head to answer for his team.

"Yup, we sure can. We already know the answer to the question, so we're fine."

"Cocky bastards, aren't you?"

"You would be too if you were in our position."

"Ibiko just decided to ignore them. They were too confident for his liking.

_'Surely they didn't know what the whole point of this tenth question was?'_

Ibiki turned back to the others. Well for the rest of you, as I was saying. You can either quit now and be failed along with your team mates, or if you decided to take the question and fail. You will be banned from taking the Chunin test ever again."

This had the desired effect on everyone left in the room. Except those four.

"Are you four really taking this that lightly?"

"Yup. We are compeltely certain of the answer. Stop second guessing us and just get on with it."

_'There's no doubt about it. They know about this test somehow...'_

Are any of you willing to take the chance that you will never become a Chunin?"

This comment seemed to push one mon over the edge.

"I quit! I'm sorry... Gennai... Inoho..."

"Number 50 fail! Number 130 and 111 fail also!"

That set off a chain reaction. People just kept on leaving until there was only 78 still left. The rest were unable to decide whether they should give up or not. Ibiki's curiosity got the better of him and he turned to Naruto.

"You must be confident for a reason. Why do you know the answer when no one else does?"

"God, you're a pushy one aren't you? Fine! I'll tell you! It's because there is no god damn tenth question! Happy now?"

People looked on in shock. What the hell was this kid talking about? Ibiki on the other hand confirmed his susicions.

"So you have inside information on this test. Who told you?"

Team Seven had preapred a story just in case this happened.

"No one did. We did some research into past Chunin exams and we found that they'd always got tough guys to be the examiner. We heard a rumor going around that you were going to be this year's examiner for the first test. We did some background research into your history and found out you were the leader of Konoha's special interrigation and investigation team. So we predicted that you would try and screw with us psychologically, mess with us at evey opportunity you got. We also know from our research into the Chunin exams as a whole that even when there's been tougher guys than you around, they never used a rule that severe. Except one. About 30 years ago, in the Hidden Mist, your counterpart first used a similar rule to your 'tenth question' rule. The Genin's were so shocked that all but four teams left. When they were returning home, one of the members of a passing team was captured by one of the groups from the exam and interrigated as to what the question was. Know what he told them? 'The question was do you want to take the question?' That's how as soon as we heard your rule, we knew we were on easy street. You may be able to screw with the minds of weaklings, but you can't screw with ours. That's why we are so confident. I'm guessing you regret asking that now since I just destroyed the whole point of this test, eh? Remember the saying: Curiosity killed the cat."

With that recital out of the way, Naruto sat back. Ibiki and everyone else in the room was impressed with the kid's amount of knowledge and preparation that went into preparing for this exam.

"You're right about one thing, kid. I regret asking you that. Well, there's no point in delaying this any longer. You all pass. Congratulations."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. However some people wanted their questions answered.

"If you were just going to pass everyone who took the tenth question, why use nine others before it?"

This came from Temari.

"Oh they had a very important purpose. They severd to test all of your information gathering skills. Those who cheated blatantly were picked out and gotten rid of. If your information gathering skills are poor, you could not only end up with false information that could cause the destruction of your village, but it could get you caught even before you got your hands on any information, let alone whether it was good or bad."

Temari still wasn't completely satisfied.

"But the what about the tenth question?"

"Ah now that was the true purpose of the test. Take, or do not take. Considering that both choices were painful, it was a very difficult decision. Let's put this question into perspective. Let's say all of you become Chunins, and you're assigned a mission to gather a secret document. The number, abilities, etc of the ninjas guarding the scroll are unknown. Now, do you accept the mission? Because you don't want to die, because you want to protect your friends, can you avoid the dangerous mission? The answer is NO! No matter what the danger, there are some missions you can't aviod. The ability to be couragous, and survive any hardship. This is the ability to be a Chunin captain! Those who cling to the uncertain futher of 'there's always next year.' Those who can't put their destinies on the line and walk away from their chance... Those worthless pieces of trash don't deserve to become Chunin in my opinion. You have made it through the entrance, the first test of the Chunin exam is now finished. I wish you luck."

Just as people were beginning to feel good about themselves, the doors to the room flew open and off their hinges. Standing in the doorway was a woman in a cream coloured trenchcoat with a fishnet shirt on. She had a VERY short miniskirt on with fishnet leggings that only covered the top half of her thighs. She also wore greaves.

"This is no time to be celebrating! I'm Mitarashi Anko, and I will be your examiner for the second test!"

Everyone just looked at her like she was half mad. To those that knew her, she was more than half mad. Closer to clinicly insane. Anko looked around the room.

"IBIKI! How the hell did you let 78 people... 26 teams pass this exam! This test was too easy."

"It's got nothing to do with the difficulty of the test, it's got to do with the fact that this years hopefuls are outstanding."

"Well, it doesn't matter. By the end of the second test, I'll have at the least half of these guys packing their backs for hime. Now, all of you, follow me!"

They warily followed the overly happy female ninja out the door and onto the second test.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Another one out of the way! Man, if I keep this up, I'll be forced to actually do some, if not all of Naruto's two and a half years out of Konoha with Jiraiya instead of skipping it like the manga did (which I am basing my storyline on, btw) He he, I just realised that somewhere in this chapter was my 50,000th word. Pats self on backAlso, did you think I introduced Yukiko and Kabuto in the right way? I tried to get Kabuto as close to what his original in the anime/manga would say. Anyways, I'm going to go to bed now. It's 3 am here in Sydney. Luckily, I have the day off tomorrow! So, until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	11. The Forest of Death

**A/N:** Alright, I'm back! It's time for the introduction and severe beating of Orochimaru, and Naruto to gain his most powerful signature move (and no, it's not the Rasengan, suprisingly, it's BETTER!) As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

**(A): **Hyuga Neji (Neji will be owned hardcore, because frankly, I think he's a jackass): 2

**(B): **Rock Lee (A battle to see which is better: The Demonic or Celestial Gates and who can open up more of them, ie a battle of epic proportions): 3

**(C): **Uchiha Sasuke (basically a battle of the Doujutsu to prove which clan has the best Bloodline Limit and which has the most power: The Curse Seal or the Demonic Gates, Chidori or Rasengan): 1

It stands at two for A, three for B and one for C.

The winner for this vote is B, Rock Lee Vs Uzumaki Naruto.

As I said last chapter, one a week, here's this chapter's 'Thing's you'll never heard characters from Naruto say':

**KAKASHI:** What's under the mask... what's under the mask! That's all everyone cares about! Well here! Take a good look! (rips off mask, wearing another one) Ya happy!

Also, here are the names of the Eight Celestial Gates and the names I came up with for the Nine Demonic Gates:

**Celestial:**

1: Open Gate

2: Energy Gate

3: Life Gate

4: Wound Gate

5: Forest Gate

6: View Gate

7: Insanity Gate

8: Death Gate

**Demonic:**

1: Armour Gate

2: Regeneration Gate

3: Intention Gate

4: Blood Gate

5: Power Gate

6: Size Gate

7: Hell Gate

8: Slaughter Gate

9: Release Gate

Anyways, I'll get to the point you've all been waiting for.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 10:

The Forest of Death:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**20 Minutes Later, Infront of The Forest of Death:**

The remaining Genin from the first test had gathered outside a rather creepy looking forest. Their instructor turned to them.

"You'll soon find out why this is called the Forest of Death."

"Really? You mean why you Jounins change the name of this forest from training area 44 to that only for the Chunin Exams? I've always wanted to know that..."

People were beginning to warm to this blonde kid. He put down every single attempt their examiners made to screw with their minds and raised their own confidence with his. The Jounins however, were beginning to hate this kid. He ruined the atmosphere that the Jounins had tried so hard to set up. Anko smiled, before releasing a kunai from her sleeve, which she threw at Naruto. Yukiko ran in, grabbed the kunai andreappeared behind Anko, with the Kunai at her back. Naruto had also used his Hiraishin no Jutsu to get behind her.

"I suggest what you watch what you throw at my boyfriend. I may just be inclined to do some serious damage if you even harm a hair on his head."

Everyone was now well aware that Team Seven weren't bluffing when they said they were strong. What kind of kids could do that to a JOUNIN? Anko also looked surprised.

"My my, what a protective young girl. Well, I won't be doing any damage to him, however, those kids will be."

Anko pointed to the others. Yukiko just laughed.

"Highly unlikely. Well, maybe except for that Sabaku no Gaara. Apart from that, maybe one other could harm us."

With that, Yukiko glared at a suspicious looking Grass nin. Anko slumped in defeat and sighed. Yukiko and Naruto used the same techniques to get back to their team. Sakura just sighed, while Sasuke smirked.

"Show off."

"Of course!"

Anko decided to continue with her explination.

"Before we continue, I need to you to sign these forms."

Naruto and Yukiko looked at them and grinned.

"Sweet! Concent forms! I assume that means we have permission to kill for this test?"

Everyone was now on edge. They had the chance of running into this team and Team Seven were alowed to KILL them? This was getting worse and worse by the second.

"That's right. These are basically to state that your death is your own responsibility, not mine. I'll start handing them out."

Naruto, being the impatient guy he was used Hiraishin no Jutsu to yank four forms out of Anko's hand and procceeded to pass them to his team mates. Anko sighed again.

_'This team will get through to the finals no problems.'_

She began walking around to the rest of them and passing out the forms. She gave them half an hour to sign them. Suprisingly, at the end of the half an hour everyone had signed them. Anko gathered them all up and began the explination of the test.

"Basically this is a survival test. You will be stuck in training area 44 for five days. You may not leave before that five days is up."

Choji looked horrified.

"What? How are we suppoed to get food?"

Naruto answered for Anko.

"This forest is abundant with food. You just have to know where to find it."

"That's right. It's also full of creatures that will fight you for that food. Some of them are bigger than humans."

"Eh? Those millipedes? Sure, they're omnivorous, but the largest size animal they'll go for is about the size of a rabbit. They won't touch humans unless you severly piss them off."

Anko was really getting irritated by this boy. She held her anger in check, and pulled a mapo out of her pocket.

"This is the layout of the area. The forest is circular in shape, with 44 enterance gates spaced equally around the perimiter. In the center of the forest, ten kilometers from the gates, is your objective. There is a tower there that will be the location of the announcement of the final test of the exam in five days time. However, there is one requirement for you to even enter the tower."

Anko held up a white scroll and a blue scroll. The white one was labeled 'Heavan' and the blue one was labeled 'Earth'.

"Before we send you to your starting gates, you will each be given one of these. Which one you're given, only your team should know."

Anko turned to Naruto hoping to use his smart arse attitude to her advantage.

"And would mister smarty pants want to have a guess as to what the objective is?"

"No, I don't want to guess. I'll tell you though. The objective is to gain the other scroll you need from an opposing team. Whether that means beating them into submission, maiming or killing them, it doesn't matter, as long as you get both scrolls and get to the tower within the five day limit, you're good. That's what you meant by cutting the teams by at least half."

Anko couldn't have put it better herself. The kid had just done exactly what she had hoped he would. She decided to press a bit more.

"Do you know what I meant by at LEAST half?"

"Yeah. Basically, there will be others that will be either removed from the exam or killed. Whether this be due to a fight with the creatures of the forest, teams get greedy and kill for the sake of eliminating possibly competition so they don't have to face them in the finals, whatever the reason, there will be teams who fail for reasons other than losing to another team for their other scroll."

Anko was actually starting to change her opinion on this kid.

_'He's sure easy to manipulate...'_

As if Naruto had read her mind, he responded.

"I'm not doing this to help you instill fear in the other Genin, I'm doing it so I can warn them of the dangers and also to show them that if they don't take this seriously, like a select few teams aren't, they will end up regretting it. Sure, my words instill fear into them, but they need to know exactly what they're instore for. I personally know my team will make it through to the finals no probs, because I'm confident we're the strongest team here. Our speciality is survival."

Anko sighed inwardly. This kid had read her like a book. She went back to explaining the last two rules.

"Well, those are most of the rules. There are two more however. One is that you will not open either scrolls until you are in the tower."

Naruto activated his 'Seal Eye' and looked at the scrolls in Anko's hand. He saw they were wrapped in a Genjutsu. A sleeping one to be precise. Anko noticed Naruto snicker.

"What's so funny?"

"Just what you put as a deterant on the scrolls to stop people from opening them. It's a nice clean way of removing them from the exams."

_'How the hell did that kid find out it was a sleeping Genjutsu?'_

"How did I find out? I'm not telling you. Let's just say I know, and leave it at that, hmm?"

Anko muttered to herself and pushed on.

"Those who open the scrolls when they're not in the tower will be instantly disqualified, along with there team. The final rule, is that all of your team mates must make it to the tower by the end of day five in a state where all of your team mates are alive. That covers all the rules. Get into a line with your team and wait here. One team at a time will go behind that curtain and recieve their scroll. Once all teams have their scroll and have arrived at their starting gate, I will give you ten minutes to finalise stratergy. Then, I will open the gates and the test will begin."

With that, the teams lined up and went through the curtained booth one by one until all of them had their scroll and had reached their starting position. Team Seven had recivied the Heave Scroll and were assigned to Gate 12. Team Seven immediately conversed. Naruto already had an idea.

"Guys, I have the solution."

Sasuke, Sakura and Yukiko turned to Naruto, waiting to hear his plan.

"When I looked at the scrol that Anko held up, it contained a summoning seal surrounded by a timed sleeping Genjutsu seal. I saw that the Genjutsu seal will be dispelledd upon entering the tower, meaning if anyone diecides to open it before the end of the test, they will be put to sleep. However, this will work in our advantage."

"Go on."

"Since I saw the seals in the scrolls were almost identical, except that the summoning seal was different for each scroll type, I can activate my first demonic gate which will grant me enhanced senses. When I find another team, I can use my 'Seal Eye' to determine which of them is carrying the scroll, and also which scroll it is without them even revealing it. So what we can do is you guys make your way to the tower, and I'll catch back up to you. However, to do that, I'll need a shred of each of your clothing to track you with."

They all nodded before tearing off a piece of their clothing and handing it to Naruto, who put them in his pocket. The Chunin looked at his watch and announced to Team Seven that they had one minute before the test started. Naruto formed some hand seals and turned into his Kyubified form. He then concerntraited and released his first Demonic Gate. He gained the Chakra armour and bit back the scream of pain. Finally, after it engulfed him, he put his head to the ground and sniffed. The Chunin opened the gate and the test commensed. Naruto charged in and ran after the smell of humans in the local vicinity. The other three ran towards the tower.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Three Minutes Later:**

Naruto had found a team of Hidden Mist nins. He activated his 'Seal Eye' and scanned each of them. Before noticing one of them had the Earth scroll.

_'Perfect.'_

Naruto didn't give them time to ready a defense. He jumped down and growled out his gutteral sentence.

"**Give me your Earth scroll now. Or I will not hesitate to kill you."**

The Mist nins knew they were seriously outclassed. The one to the left shakily walked forward and pulled out the Earth scroll.

"Please... Take it! Just don't kill us!"

"**If you handed over the scroll like you just did, I had no intention of killing you. However if you had resisted, I would have ended your lives. Thank you for cooperating. Good luck in next year's exam."**

With that, Naruto lept into the trees and pulled out Yukiko's clothing and took a sniff before following the scent north east in the direction of the tower. Naruto had just about caught up with them when he felt a huge chakra signature pulse from the location of his team.

_'SHIT! Who the hell could have that large a chakra signature?'_

_**'Why don't you go find out, kit?'**_

"_I was intending to.'_

Naruto sprinted into the clearing to see the Grass Nin that Yukiko was suspicious about had Sasuke and Sakura on the ground paralised. The Grass nin was just about to throw two kunai at their heads.

_'Shit, that guy's good! I have to make it in time!'_

Naruto jumped in and gathered up Sakura and Sasuke and headed off to where Yukiko was waiting. The kunai the Grass nin had thrown hit the tree root behind where the two young ninja's heads had been with a solid _'THUNK'_. The Grass nin smiled a proceeded after his pray.

Naruto landed next to Yukiko who was shivering and weeping uncontrollably. Naruto put down his other two team mates and ran over to hug Yukiko.

"**Yukiko-Chan! What's wrong?"**

"I... I saw you die... Naruto-Kun... He mutilated your body and then fed your corpse to a snake... It ws horrible!"

"Yukiko-Chan, he's a genjutsu master. What you saw was nothing but an illusuion. I'm alive and I got the other scroll. Now come on! We need to get out of here before that snake freak shows up again-"

"I assume you mean me?"

Naruto cursed himself that he hadn't detected him before. He turned to the Grass Nin and smiled Sadistically.

"**You're not really a Genin are you? You're not even at Jounin level, I'd say closer to Sannin level. There's only one Sannin who uses snakes, eh Orochimaru?**"

Orochimaru smiled. This kid was way beyond sharp. This would be interesting

"That's right, Naruto-Kun. I'm glad you are smart enough to figure out those things. Your team mates certainly weren't. I'm surprised how easy it was to deal with your team, considering that rumors have it that you four are supposed to be our replacements. Even that blue haired girl foolishly took me on. I showed her a beautiful image of your death."

"**You snake bastard! How dare you defile my girlfriend's mind like that! You and I are going to sort things out, right here and now! YOU WILL PAY FOR DOING THIS TO US! SECOND DEMONIC GATE, THE REGENERATION GATE. KAI!"**

Naruto's power levels doubled, and a second tail sprouted. Everyone in the whole forest felt the huge killing intent and cowered in fear. They didn't have to wait much longer until they felt the source of the intent wash over them in a huge shockwave. They heard massive exploisions going off near the tower. At the scene of the fight, Orochimaru was getting his ass handed to him. Naruto had gone into a blind rage, destroying anything and everything that Orochimaru dissapeared behind with a huge chakra hand. Naruto finally managed to see an openeing and grabbed Orochimaru before slamming him into the ground. He was falling towards him with a chakra powered fist ready to end the snake bastard's life. However, Orochimaru saw an opening and shot out his tongue and wrapped it around Naruto. The tongue started to sear and burn, but this was his only chance to take care of him. He pulled the boy level with his face and pulled up his shirt. Orochimaru then made the tips of each of his fingers and his thumb on his right hand glow with purple, with a separate kanji appearing in the center of the fire. He slmaed his hand into Naruto's stomach and screamed.

"Fuuin!"

With that, Kyubi's chakra drained rapidly. And Naruto started to lose conciousness. Orochimaru let him fall to the ground. And decided to beat a hasty retreat. Yukiko had managed to recover and get over to the scene to see her boyfriend lying on the ground unconcious. She ran over to him and picked him up and began to cry.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Later That Night:**

Sasuke, Sakura nad Sasuke had all recovered from their genjutsu ordeals and had dragged Naruto to saftey. They attended to Naruto's high fever and obvious physical discomfort. Yukiko had used her Bloodline Limit to see that he was not poisioned, had no internal damage and no other vissable reason for his discomfort. Sakura was worried about her team mate.

"Neh, Yukiko-San, can you see what's wrong with Naruto?"

"No, it's really strange. There's absolutely no reason his body should be reacting like this."

At that point in time, Naruto had recovered just enough to gain conciousness.

"No... He put... Another seal... On my... Stomach... It's sealed off... The Kyubi's... Chakra... My body is going through... Withdrawal symptoms..."

They looked at Naruto in shock. Yukiko vowed she would personally kick that bastard's ass when she next met him. Yukiko turned to Naruto.

"Can you unseal it?"

"Yeah... But I still... Need time to... Recover... Even after I... Fix it..."

Naruto pulled his shirt up and focused as much chakra as he could into his right hand. He formed five small flames on his fingers and thumb and slammed it into his stomach.

"Unseal!"

Naruto convulsed as the outter ring of the seal dissapeared, before finally dropping back ontp the ground and going to sleep. Yukiko looked on as she smiled, giving Sakura a thumbs up. Sakura smiled, knowing that her team mate was on the road to recovery. They took turns guarding Naruto while he recovered throughout the night.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The Next Morning:**

Sakura was assigned to hold the last watch. Sasuke was out collecting food for the team and Yukiko was collecting water. She snapped her head up when she felt something running at her. She saw it was a squirril, smiling she watched the squirril run towards her. She became alert and threw a kunai at the squirril to stop it's advance.

_'That was far too close...'_

Unknown to her, the three from the Sound were watching this observantly from the scrub nearby.

"Oh? She's an observant one."

"She noticed the explosive tag?"

"No, that's not it..."

"Then what was it?"

"Let's find out now, shall we?"

With that, the three jumped out of the bushes and landed on the other side of the clearing from Sakura. Sakura recognised them as the team from the Sound.

"What do you three want?"

"We're hear to see Sasuke-Kun. We want to fight him. Be a good girl and tell us where he is."

"All I know is that he went off to collect food. Where he is, I have no idea."

The tallest one cracked his knuckles.

"Well then, I'll just have to kill this girl and wait for Sasuke to get back."

The other boy on their team held up his arm.

"Wait, Zaku."

"What's wrong, Dosu?"

Dosu walked forward and stopped at a patch of ground that would be no different to anyone who wasn't looking.

"A recently overturned stone, different coloured dirt... Grass doesn't grow here... This is obviously a booby trap, and a very poorly made one at that. Frankly, you have no skill as a Ninja."

"Pfft, how stupid."

"Since we have no use for this girl..."

Sakura readied herself.

"Kill her."

With that, the three sound nins jumped at Sakura, who just smirked and cut a wire string she had been sitting in front of. The three from the Sound looked up to see a gaint log attached to a rope crash through the canopy and right towards them. Dosu just smirked and put his hand on the log and shattered it.

"Pathetic. People like you should work harder before you mess with guys like us."

Sakura just sighed and waited for the end. However, one green spandex wearing ninja had seen this whole engagement and decided to intervine at that point in time.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

Lee smiled as he sent the three from the sound flying back before taking his personalised taijutsu fighting stance, with the squirril that the explose tag had been strapped to on his shoulder.

"Then you guys should aslo work harder..."

"Who are you?"

"I am Konoha's beautiful green beast, Rock Lee."

Sakura mummbled.

"Why... Are you here?"

"I will always appear when you are in trouble."

Lee put the squirril on the ground and watched it scamper off.

"Well... Thank you, you saved me."

"I said it before."

Sakura wondered what theat meant.

"I would protect you until I die."

Lee smiled to himself for his small victory

_'Yes! I'm awesome, Gai-Sensei!'_

Dosu was the first into action.

"I'll take care of them."

With that said, Dosu ran at Lee. Lee plunged his hand into the ground as Dosu lept into the air to try and gain the advantage of added weight to his attack gained by the momentum of falling. Lee pulled out one of the tree's roots to form a sheild for himself and Sakura.

"There's some sort of trick to your attacks, right? I'm not going to take them head on."

_'Even so, three on one is a severe disadvantage. I have no choice but to take all three out one at a time with full power.'_

Lee remembered the one strict condition he was supposed to abide by when using his signature technique.

_'To protect an important person!'_

Naruto had just managed to regain conciousness and saw Lee do his trump card.

_'That could be useful...'_

Naruto watched the tecnique with interest.

With that, Lee dissapeared and reappeared underneith Dosu, kicking him under the chin, causing him to sail through the air. Lee once again dissapeared, and reappeared behind Dosu. Dosu's eyes widened in fear.

"This is then end!"

Lee wrapped his medical tape around Dosu and began spinning at an extreme rate before plummenting to the ground. Zaku knew he had to intervine or else Dosu was going to be six feet under. He formed a set of hand seals and plunged his hands into the ground, sending two raised tunnels of air filled dirt towards where Dosu was going to land, and the twin tunnels turned into a raised mound, just as Dosu was slammed into the ground at a terrifing speed.

"Omote Renge!"

Lee smirked while the Sound ninjas stared in awe. Dosu started to pull himself out of the mound. Lee was shocked at this. Naruto at this point lost the fight to stay concious.

"NANI!"

"What a truly terrifying technique. I landed on a sponge of dirt and air, and it still hurt like hell. However, it's my turn now."

Dosu ran at Lee, who was still recovering from the wracking pain of openeing the first Celestial Gate.

_'Damn it... I can't dodge...'_

Dosu aimed a punch at Lee's head, but Lee managed to block it. Or so he thought. His head started to swim.

"If your moves are at high speed, then ours are at the speed of sound. I'll show you a wall... That no amount of hard work can surpass..."

Lee lost his balance andfelt to the ground, throwing up.

"Lee-San!"

"Heh heh. You see, there's a little trick to my attacks. You can't just dodge them. Our attacks are made purely of sound. Even if you dodge my attack, sound will still reach you. Do you know what sound actually is?"

"Vibrations..."

"Exactly. Hearing sound means that your ear drum is catching the shaking of the air. And the human ear drum will break if it picks up any sounds in excess of 150 Mega Hertz. Deeper in the ear still, lies the semi-circular canals. If they are damaged you lose your balance. He he, you won't be able to move your body for a while."

"Hah! Lame old Taijutsu won't work against us. I have to say though, you were doing well enough to force me to use a jutsu. I can freely control super-sonic sound waves and air pressure to the extent that I can destroy rocks with ease. Blasting air into the dirt and creating a cushion is nothing. Our techniques are far superior to your stupid ones."

Dosu raised his right arm (god damn it, why does everyone have to be right handed! Yes, I'm a lefty) to reveal a device strapped to his forearm.

"Alright... Your turn!"

Sakura readied herself. Lee, on the other hand, had other ideas. He charged in and performed a half strength Konoha Senpuu. Dosu looked on in shock.

"Man, don't scare me like that! Heh, although you some how managed to move, it seems you're at your limit. I'll finish you off now."

Dosu gave a sweeping right hook. Lee brought his hand up to block it. Dosu just smirked at this.

"This arm amplifies the small sounds produced to their ultimate level. You could say it's a speaker! However, the direction of the sound does not follow the arm, I use my chakra to make sure it reaches it's intended target."

The sound waves were indeed bending and aiming towards Lee's ear. When they hit the ear, Lee screamed and dropped to the ground. Dosu turned back to Sakura.

"Now, let's finish this."

Sakura suddenly got a burst of determination. She picked out some shuriken and kunai and threw them at Dosu.

"I won't let you!"

Dosu just sighed.

"Oh please..."

Unknown to them, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were watching from some nearby bushes. Choji was the first to speak.

"We should get out of here! They're too strong!"

"It seems like Naruto is knocked out and now it's just Sakura against those three. Even Lee's been defeated. What will you do?"

"What do you mean, what will I do?"

"Well, you and Sakura used to be good friends right?"

Ino took a little trip down memory lane to the time when Sakura had declared that they were rivals from now on.

_'Why am I remembering that?'_

"Hey Ino? What are we going to do?"

"What can we do? If we go out, we'll just be defeated!"

Sakura had just unleashed another wave of shuriken at Dosu. However, Zaku intercepted and blasted the shuriken back at Sakura, forcing her onto the ground. Just as Sakura was about to get back up, she felt someone appear behind her and yank on her hair. Sakura turned to see the female sound nin holding onto her hair.

"Much glossier than mine. If you have time to take care of your hair, then train some more you female swine."

"Zaku, kill that blondie while we wait for Sasuke."

Sakura stiffened vissably at the mention of killing Naruto. This did not go unnoticed by the female Sound Nin.

"Don't move."

Sakura began to cry.

"_I... I am still... Just getting in the way... Always being protected... I can't stand it... This time... This time I thought... That I have to protect those who are important to me...'_

Zaku began walking over to Naruto.

"Now... Shall we?"

Sakura knew this was her last chance to prove herself to Team Seven. She pulled out a kunai.

"That won't work against me"

Sakura just gave the female ninja a cocky smirk.

"What are you talking about?"

With that, Sakura used the kunai to cut her hair, releasing her from held in place. This shocked everyone beond belief.

_'I always said I liked Sasuke-Kun. I used to always lecture Naruto. I used to try and be like Yukiko... But all I ever did... Was watch your backs. Now, it's time for you three to watch my back!'_

Zaku snarled and turned to his female team mate.

"Kin! Kill her!"

Kin responded by stabbing Sakura in the back with a kunai, only to find Sakura had used Kawarimi no Jutsu. Sakura reappeared and began running at Zaku, a kunai in between each finger.

"Pathetic... Air pressure 100 percent... Sound waves 0 percent... BLAST!"

Sakura again used Kawarimi no Jutsu.

"You're fooling no one. You're above. Time to get serious!"

Zaku released a wave of kunai at Sakura and began looking around madly.

"Now, where did you go?"

Unfortunately for Zaku, Sakura had not used the replacement technique, and had taken the attack head on. Zaku realised this when Sakura was about two meters from him. He brought his arms up to block, and Sakura stabbed his right forearm with her kunai and bit down on his left forearm. Zaku growled and began punching Sakura in the head.

"Let go of me!"

Sakura held on in grim determination. Zaku was getting pissed off.

"I said let go of me, god damn it!"

Finally, Zaku managed to dislodge Sakura from his arm and prepared for an air cutter attack.

"You brat!"

Just as Zaku was powering up his technique, Ino's team had decided to take that moment to jump in. Sakura looked up at her saviours.

"Ino?"

"I said I'd never lose to you, Sakura. I already said that."

"Hmph. Seems some more wierdoes have crawled out of the woodwork."

Choji suddenly tried to scramble away.

"What are you two doing! We'll be killed! Shikamaru, let go of my skarf!"

"Yeah right idiot. It's troublesome, but since Ino jumped out, we as her team mates have to join her as well."

"Heh, you can run if you want... Fatty."

Choji suddenly stopped his flailing. He stoped dead. Ino and shikamaru looked on in interest. Choji said something in little more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry, I think you just said something, although I didn't quite hear it. Care to repeat it?"

Zaku looked at him in confusion.

"Eh?"

_'The word fat is taboo for choji. Say it twice and...'_

Gathering his composer again, Zaku repeated what he said.

"I said you can just go jack off in the woods, FATASS!"

Choji whirled around.

"I'M NOT A FATASS DAMN IT! I'M JUST CHUBBY! HORRAY FOR CHUBBIES!"

Zaku looked amused. Choju turned to his team mates with fire in his eyes that would make Lee turn even greener than he was already with envy.

"You two! You know this is a war between the leaf and the sound, right?"

Shikamaru let go of Choji's skarf.

"Man this is going to suck."

"That's our line."

Ino called out to Sakura over her shoulder.

"Sakura! Take care of Naruto!"

"Yeah..."

"Alright! Time for Ino Team's full power! Let's go! Choji, do your thing!"

"O K! Baika no Jutsu!"

Choji suddenly turned into a giant sphere with arms, legs and a head. He drew his appendages in, and began rolling twards Zaku.

"Ha! What kind of a technique is thus? It's just some fat ass rolling! Air Cutter!"

"The streme of air seemed to stop Choji until Choji bounched into the air, attempting to land on top of Zaku and squash him. Dosu began running at Zaku to tackle him out of the way, however, Shikamaru wasn't going to have that.

"Oh no you don't! Ninpou, Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow shot out and touched Dosu's feet, stopping him in his tracks. Shikamaru made a strange gesture with his hands, which was mirrored by Dosu. Kin screamed at her team mate.

"Dosu, what the hell are you doing?"

"Ino, now there's just the girl."

"Mhm. Take care of my body, Shikamaru! Ninpou, Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, Kin seized up and the howl of a wolf could be heard inside everyone's minds. Ino slumped to the ground, and Shikamaru caught her and leaned her up against a tree. Kin pulled out a kunai and heled it to her own thoat.

"This is it. If you guys move an inch, I'll kill this Kin girl."

However, the two ther members of the Sound team were just snickering. Zaku raised his hand a let loose an ir cutter on the Ino controlled Kin. Zaku smiled as he got up.

"You guys are confused. Our mission is not to get the scrolls or even to pass this exam. It's Sasuke-Kun."

Shikamaru's Kagemane no Jutsu had drained all of his chakra. Sighing he released it.

"Oh? It looks like the limit for this jutsu is about five minutes. It also seems from the internal bleeding of your team mate, if we kill Kin, she'll die too."

Then, another voice came from above them.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing to our team mates and friends?"

Everyone looked up to see Sasuke and Yukiko glancing confidently down at the group. Zaku was the first to reply

"Well, if it isn't our target Sasuke. Why don't you come down here and fight us?"

Yukiko took a look at the swirling red chakra surrounding Naruto.

"That won't be necessary. It seems my boyfriend will finish you off."

"Boyfriend?"

"**She means me."**

Everyone turned to see Naruto surrounded by an aura of blood red chakra. When Naruto raised his head, they gasped. His eyes were blood red, with cat like slits for pupils. His whisker marks had elongatened, widened and darkened. His fingernails had turned into claws and his cainines had lengthened. Naruto lowered himself onto all fours. He looked at Sakura and he let forth a gutteral snarl.

"**Sakura-Chan. Who did that to you?"**

Sakura was just too scared to talk.

"**Tell me! Who did that to you!"**

Zaku got some of his confidence back.

"I did you demon bastard. What are you going to do about it?"

Naruto looked at Zaku and gave him a very sadistic smile.

"**Firstly, you just said something that's the equivalent of calling Choji fat. NO ONE calls me a demon bastard. Secondly, as for what I'll do to you..."**

Naruto looked thoughtful.

"**Probably sever your head and show it to that snake bastard Orochimaru before I kick his ass a second time. Hah, and he's supposed to be a Sannin... Pathetic."**

Zaku was now not so sure of himself, but he quickly decided he was bluffing.

"Bah, you could never even lay a finger on him!"

"**5 percent power should be sufficient to kill you three."**

"Don't underestimate us, you demon bastard! Maximum Air Cutter!"

A huge cone of air rushed out of Zaku's hands. Everything in it's path was obliterated. Well, except one particular demonicly enchanced boy.

"How did you like that, you demon bastard?"

"**I frankly found it boring. Is that the best you three failures have to offer?"**

Zaku just stared in shock. That bastard had just taken the full force of his attack as if it were a light breeze. Naruto body flickered behind Zaku and pulled both of his arms back behind him and put a foot on his back.

"**It seems you're pretty proud of these arms, eh? Would you like me to rip them off and beat you with them?"**

"Please... Stop..."

"**Fat chance, you bastard. Not after what you did you Sakura-Chan."**

Everyone heard the sound of tearing tendons and muscles. Finally, Naruto gave one final yank and broke the Sound Nins arms, dropping him to the ground in a screaming heap. Naruto turned slowly to look at Dosu, who cowered.

"**Please tell me you are more fun to beat up than he was."**

Dosu just stepped back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll.

"Please... Take our scroll, just let us leave alive..."

"**I don't need your damn scroll. We got ours within the first hour of entering this place. Now, shall we continue?"**

Dosu shivered in fear and cringed as Naruto started walking towards Dosu. Yukiko shook her head and jumped down, before putting herself in between Naruto and Dosu.

"Naruto, I know you're blood thirsty at the moment, but seriously, what will killing these guys achive?"

"**Revenge."**

Yukiko just sighed and pulled the Kyubified Naruto into a kiss. This shocked everyone beyond words. After about ten seconds, Yukiko pulled back.

"Seriously Naruto, why do you have to go around acting so irrisponsible?"

"**I'm sorry, Yu**kiko-Chan..."

Everyone noticed that Naruto was returning to normal. Who had this kind of power over the previously untameable Naruto? Naruto turned back to Dosu.

"I've changed my mind. Leave your scroll, get your team mates and leave. I may not be able to use it, but I'm sure on of our friends could."

"Very well. We hope to see you in the main matches. If we both get there, we will not run away."

"I sure hope so."

With that, Dosu put Kin and Zaku over his shoulders and jumped up into a nearby tree before retreating. Everyone turned back after a second to see Naruto and Yukiko enjoying a special moment. Ino was the first to speak up.

"Yukiko! That was a dangerous thing to do-"

"Hardly. Naruto-Kun would NEVER hurt me, not in a million years. I'm too precious for him to touch in any way other than in love. I don't expect you to understand, Ino. You've lived a sheltered life compared to Naruto-Kun and I. Anyway, I think we need to get going. I want to be at that tower in 30 minutes. Come on Team Seven, we're moving out! Naruto gathered up Sakura and turned towards the tower before jumping into the trees. Sasuke followed next. Yukiko smiled and threw the Sound's scroll to Ino.

"Sort out amongst yourselves who gets it. We'll see you at the tower. Goo luck people!"

Yukiko lept up and followed her team mates leaving the others stunned at the whole spectacle they had just witnessed.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Day Two Evening at The Tower:**

Naruto was the first to arrive. Sasuke landed next to him and Yukiko on the other side of Naruto. Naruto looked down at Sakura.

"Neh, Sakura-Chan, can you walk yet?"

"I think so... Thank you for saving me back there, Naruto-Kun..."

Everyone was a bit shocked at the suffix Sakura had attached to his name. Naruto let Sakura down and Sakura brushed herself off. Naruto turned to see Kabuto and his team come out from behind the bushes to their left.

"Ohayo, Naruto-Kun."

"Ah! Kabuto! You made it too!"

"Of course we did-"

"NIISAN!"

Yukiko lept off the tree and gathered Kabuto in a hug. Kabuto was still by no means used to signs of such affection and he smiled before setting Yukiko back on the ground.

"Ohayo, Yukiko-Chan."

One of Kabuto's team mates looked at him questioningly.

"Niisan?"

"Ah I suppose I'd better explain it to you. Basically, You know how I was found outside the Hidden Village of Konoha as a child?"

His team mates nodded.

"What had apparently happened was that I was born in the Village of Snow. However, Nibi, the two tailed queen of the damned appeared just outside the snow about the time I was born. The elders of the village selected a few of the clan heirs and other important people to be sent away from the village incase Nibi turned violent. I was one of them. Yukiko-Chan here, was born 7 years after me. A few days before Yukiko-Chan was born, Nibi turned violent and began attacking. Our entire clan was sacrificed to seal Nibi into Yukiko. Yukiko returned to the Village of the Snow on a mission a few weeks ago and searched through her appartment for anything she could take home with her, and Naruto-Kun accedentally broke a section of the wall to reveal a safe. Inside that safe was a letter from our parent's addressed to Yukiko. The letter asked that she also show it to me. That pretty much sums it up."

Kabuto's team mate who was wearing normal glasses narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I see, how charming. Well, we'll go on ahead, you can stay here and talk to your sister and her team mates."

"Ok, I'll catch up with you in a bit."

"Don't be too late. Our sensei doesn't like to be kept waiting, you know."

With that, the two went inside the building. Kabuto turned to Team Seven with a look of pure fear.

"Niisan? What's wrong?"

"Listen very carefully to what I am about to tell you. I am currently not really a member of the Leaf."

Naruto was about to let out a screech when Kabuto clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't make a noise! This is beyond serious! I've led a dark life. Currently, I am the right hand man of a very evil person called Orochimaru."

"HIM? I beat the shit out of him!"

Kabuto glanced at Naruto in shock. He shook his head before continuing.

"Please listen to me! The Leaf is in grave danger! The Sand and the Sound have joined forces and are planning to invade Konoha during the main matches! I've already renounced my affiliation to the sound once I found out I had something worth living to protect. Orochimaru is planning to kill the Kazekage and take on his appearance and use it to get close to the Hokage. I was supposed to put the entire staduim under a sleeping Genjutsu spell, and that would trigger the invasion. However, without my spell, the Sand and the Sound will likely think that Orochimaru has abandoned the plan. I need all of you to give Hokage-Sama this. I may not make it, so I need you to warn both the Sand and the Leaf of the impending deaths of their leaders! However, do it in secrecy. Don't announce it in the preliminaries or the finals. However, I want you to go to the Hokage's office and deliver him that letter. He'll understand everything. I have to get going, Orochimaru is expecting me, and I have to play along until I can find an opportunity to escape. I'll catch you guys in the preliminaries."

With that, Kabuto ran off to meet with Orochimaru. They were about to look at the scroll when they remembered what would happen if they opened the Heaven or Earth scrolls outside the tower and put the scroll away. They walked into their designated door and nodded amongst themselves. Naruto chucked Sasuke the Earth scroll and he took the Heaven scroll. They both opened their scrolls before chucking them to the floor. Smoke started coming out from the seals in the scrolls and eventually, a puff of smoke appeared. Once it cleared, they saw their old Academy Sensei. Iruka.

"So it seems you guys made it here? Congratulations! I knew I could expect this from you guys."

They just chatted for a while, before Iruka poffed back to the Academy. Team Seven just enjoyed their three days of rest before the next test.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Another chapter out of the way. If you're wondering why I had Naruto answer all the examiners questions, it's because I've realised that I'm going to have to split off from the story eventually and make my own. I'm powering through the manga and anime story far faster than I expected. What has this got to do with Naruto knowing the answers to the examiners' questions? Basically, I'm trying to start moving the plot away from following the Manga exactly word for word with the exception of an OC in there. So now, I'm going to start going off into my own story line soon enough. Naruto's going to be COMPELTELY different after he comes back with Jiraiya after his two and a half year journey. You'll notice that Naruto will be quite OOC and will be acting more like a cross between Jiraiya and the Yondaime. (basically a guy who loves his village and is a closet pervert, or something like that.) I hope I didn't just ruin the whole chapter with this OOC'ness, but the fact of the matter is that while I'm following the official storyline, it's very easy to keep everyone in character, however once I move off into the unknown, I have to think about exactly what everyone would do in the given situation. For most of the characters, it's farly easy, but some of the ideas Naruto comes up with I could never hope to emulate. I don't have the mind of a prankster, so it's hard to understand his mentality. Again, my appologies if this was not what you came to expect from me. Until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	12. Preliminaries!

**A/N:** Greetings again my fellow readers! Oh my god! F F. N e t is being completely analy retentive. They won't let me update, they won't let me view my story, FFS! I've being trying to update for 5 hours now! ARG!After a lot of looking into how the original main matches were set up, I've discovered that I can have four people vs Naruto, including the final. I'm still deciding which half of the table to put the extended part on. I really want to get Naruto and Yukiko and Sasuke promoted to Chunin during this exam, and the only way I can think of doing it is to have a very soppy finals match, even by my standards. Namely, I have Yukiko and Naruto face off in the finals, but they both forfeit, claiming that they would never hurt a friend, even if it was just a regulated match. However, this is the only way I can think of doing things that will get both of them promoted to Chunin. Even so, to even get to the finals, I'd have to do the same thing for either Naruto vs Sasuke or Yukiko vs Sasuke. These are the ones that I've finally decided on for the line up of Naruto's opponents for the main matches:

First round: Hyuga Neji.

Second Round: Rock Lee.

Semi Finals: Sabaku no Gaara.

Finals: Yakushi Yukiko.

Also, Jdawg26, you have to understand that both Yukiko's and Naruto's demons were practically forcing them to do it. The two demons realised if they pushed any harder, it would probably have the exact opposite effect they wanted, so they basically just let things pan out and try and arrive at their goal naturally.

And a big thank you to Ani-Blast for pointing out that flaw for me. Sorry about that, it should be that there was 79 people left, not 78.

Oh and I was hoping to keep the main reason about why Naruto decided to smarten up a secret, but I guess I might as well tell you guys now, otherwise it will just look like a major design flaw. He read something in his father's box on the Akatsuki saying that he would be hunted to the ends of the earth along with the other demon containers unil either Akatsuki had captured all of the demon containers, or Akatsuki had been defeated. Naruto decided to wizen up and get better, for Yukiko's sake as well.

One final thing. If you dont want a **MASSIVE** spoiler about the most recent manga issue of Nartuo, I suggest you do not read the Author's Notes at the end of this chapter. Let's just say that the current issue completely destroyed almost all of my love for Naruto as a story. If you want to find out why I think this, read the AN at the bottom. Let's just say it made me want to get off the original story line ASAP.

The thing you'd never hear a character say quote for this chapter: '**SHIKAMARU: **"Hey Naruto, buddy, I got some extra cans of paint, let's go decorate the Hokage's mansion!"'

Anyways, to the writing! I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Day Five of the Second Test:**

The Genin had all assembled in the middle of the tower, which was obviously used as a fighting arena. They noticed that all of the important people of the village were here. Anko was the first to address them.

"Hokage-Sama will now explain the rules for the third exam, so litsen up!"

The hokage stepped forward. He took a long draw from his pipe before expelling the smoke.

"Before I explain the rules of the third exam, I want to tell you the true meaning for this exam."

"That it's a replacement for war?"

Everyone turned to Naruto who was smiling sadly.

"That is correct Naruto. Go back 50 or so years, and you'll find that all the currently 'allied' countries were enemies fighting for the right to rule. Eventually, they realised that there was a much lest costly way of dealing with the power struggle, and so the Chunin Selection Exams were born. During the main matches, you will be watched by some of the most powerful and influential people on the face of the planet. Each shinobi in the exams is expected to put his life on the line to uphold their village's power and prestige."

Kiba wanted some answers.

"But why the hell do we have to risk our lives to entertain people!"

Yukiko answered for the Hokage.

"The strength of a country is decided by the strength of it's village. The strength of the village is decided by the strength of the shinobi. If the strength of a shinobi, and therefore it's village and country is clear, the infulential and powerful people in the stands will favor that village, and they will recive more clients. However, if the inverse is true, and a shinobi is seen as weak, his or her country will recive less clients. If a village's 'power' deteriorates to a certain level, it is giving the message to the other villages that 'we are weak.' This will signal any country that is even a slight enemy that they are prime for invasion. Therefore we are expected to perform our best and bring power and prestige to our village in order to avoid any potential threats of invasion."

The hokage nodded.

"That is correct, Yukiko. They only time a shinobi's true strength comes to the surface is during life or death situations. I will now begin explaining the third test's rules-"

" Cough> Actually, Hokage-Sama, as the referee, will you allow me to explain the rules?"

"Very well."

The Chunin coughed again and turned around to face the group of Genins.

"Greetings... Cough>... I am Hayate. There's something that must be done before the third test begins, namely, a preliminary."

"What? Why?"

"It may have been that the first and second tests were too easy this year, or it may be that you are all exceptional Genins. Whatever the reason is, there are far too many people left to simply put you all into the next test."

"But why is that?"

"As Hokage-Sama said, there will be powerful people watching the third test. Their time is valuable, and we cannot afford to waste it... Cough>... Therefore, accroding to the Chunin selection exam rules, we are required to hold a preliminary."

People mumbled but accepted it.

"One final thing, would anyone like to give up now?"

The Sound Jounin instructor looked at Kabuto, as if giving him some sort of message, but Kabuto pretended that he hadn't seen it.

"No one? Very well. The preliminaries will be one on one matches. You will fight as if this is a real life confrontation. Since we have exactly 22 participants, the winners will advance through to the main matches. Please look at the screen on the wall behind me. The first two names will be announced. The two that appear first please prepare. The rest of you, please go and stand with your senseis in the stands above. The first match is between:

**Uchiha Sasuke**

**VS**

**Akada Yoroi**

"Would the two fighters step up please?"

Sasuke stepped up to Hayate's left, and Yoroi to his right. Yoroi was one of Kabuto's team mates. Yoroi sneered and Sasuke smirked.

"Fighters, please begin."

Hayate jumped back bringing his hand down in between them to show the match had started. Yoroi gathered his chakra into a wave around his right hand and laughed.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

Yoroi used his left hand to reach into the pouch on his back and took out three shuriken, which he promptly hurled at Sasuke. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and deflected them back at Yoroi, who ducked to dodge them. Yoroi charged in, holding his right wrist. Sasuke rolled backwards, just missing Yoroi's hand, which punched through the ground where he had been a split second ago. Sasuke stabbed his kunai into the ground to give him a firm grip on somthing that let him spin around to catch Yoroi's leg in between his own, tripping him up. Sasuke placed one leg over Yoroi's neck and held Yoroi's right hand, preventing him from forming any seals. This however, was good for Yoroi, as he turned his arm over, and grabbed onto Sasuke's neck, activating his chakra in his hand. Sasuke felt the strength drain from his body at an alarming rate. He had to get out of this, and fast. He grabbed Yoroi's forearm with both hands and managed to prise him off himself. Sasuke lept back.

"That's an unusual ability you have. The ability to drain someone else's chakra and add it to your own... Impressive..."

"Why thank you. However, I'm not in the mood for taking complements. I'll finish this right now."

"So will I."

Yoroi charged in, and Sasukejust up and vanished, reappearing insideYoroi's guard, who was not expecting this and tried to back up, but it was far too late. Sasuke gave him a huge kick to the underside of his chin, sending him flying into the air. Lee was shocked.

"That's my..."

Sasuke appeared behind Yoroi and smirked.

"I'll have to thank Lee for this later, however, from here on out, it's all original."

Sasuke pointed two fingers into Yoroi's back to give himself a center of gravity and gave a sweeping right kick Yoroi blocked it and smirked.

"Not enough!"

"Wrong!"

In one fluid motion, Sasuke retracted his foot and gave a sweeping backhand punch to Yoroi's face. Just asthey were about to land, Sasuke finished his combo with a sweeping kick toYoroi's stomach.

"Shi Shi Rendan!"

Sasuke recovered and gloated over his victory. Hayate walked over to find Yoroi unconcious. Hayate coughed and pointed to Sasuke.

"Winner of the first match is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke formed a ram seal, surrounding himself in a swirl of leaves andbody flickered up to his team. He gave Naruto a high five, and Kakashi smiled at him. The medics had removed Yoroi from the stage to prepare for the next match. Hayate coughed to get everyone's attention.

"The next match's participance will now be announced."

Everyone looked at the board. The names said:

**Uzumaki Naruto**

**VS**

**Zaku Abumi**

"Fighters for the second round, please step up. You may begin when ready."

Naruto took one look at Zaku and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Did you enjoy me breaking your arms? How about I break your neck this time?"

Everyone was chilled to the bone. How could Naruto talk about killing this guy in such a manner?

"Shut it you demon freak! I can still use at least one arm."

Naruto just smiled and bent to the floor, letting forth a gutteral growl. His hair became unruly, his wiskers elongated, widened and darkened. His fingernails turned into claws and his canines grew. When Naruto opened his eyes, they had turned blood red, whith cat like slits for pupils. Everyone just glanced in horror. Yukiko on the other hand, was uncounciously licking her lips. Gaara was trying to contain himself.

"I've seen this form before demon boy! I know how to defeat you!"

"**Oh? Do you know how to defeat this nextform then? First demon gate: The Armour Gate. KAI!"**

Naruto's body began to be surrounded by a blood red armour made of chakra. As the armour reached Naruto's chest he screamed in obvious pain, before it overtook his head. His scream turned into a battle cry that radiated bloodlust. Peope were visably quaking. Yukiko just smiled at her boyfriend. She announced to the people around her what was about to happen.

"He's dead."

They all looked to Yukiko for an explination.

"Calling Naruto-Kun a demon is a bigger taboo than calling Chouji fat. You call Naruto a demon, you forfeit your life. That guy was lucky to get off with calling Naruto-Kun a demon once, which is once more than anyone. Watch, I don't know how Naruto-Kun's going to kill him, but it won't be pretty."

They all turned back to the match. Naruto smirked and created four Kage Bunshins to stand at the four corners of the ring. Naruto turned back to Zaku and announced his move.

"**Prepare yourself!"**

Naruto charged in with blinding speed, and just before he got to Zaku, he changed direction and formed a ring of dirt around Zaku. Lee knew where this was going.

"That's also my..."

Zaku was getting bored.

"Come on demon boy, let's see what you've got."

"**Very well. Your life ends now."**

Naruto sprinted out from his current position in the ring and punched Zaku into the wall, making a fairly large crater.

"**That's just the beginning of it. SHI-NE!"**

Naruto ran and plowed into the wall, before draging Zaku towards the back wall. When he hit the back wall, there was another large explosion of smoke, before Naruto appeared again, draging Zaku along the back wall before slamming him into the other side, another explosion of smoke eminated from their point of impact. Naruto again dragged Zaku down the wall, but this time he stopped half way and jumped into the centre of the ring, draging Zaku with him to where the other kage bunshins had just reached by jumping off the walls. The real Naruto jumped off the back of one of the clones, attaching himself to the roof and waiting. The clones began a sickening combo, punching and kicking Zaku before kicking him further up into the air, where the real Naruto was waiting. Naruto released his hold on the roof and dropped down to meet Zaku. Naruto grabbed a hold of Zaku's middrift, locking his legs around Zaku's neck.

"**Omote Oni Renge Rendan!"**

Naruto dived down with Zaku locked in position. Zaku may or may not have been alive at that point, it didn't matter to Naruto. Naruto slammed Zaku into the ground with such force that the ground bucked and shattered underneath the point of impact releasing a huge wave of dust and debris throught the arena. Everyone covered their eyes. Ino screamed and Sasuke just gave a 'hmph'. Naruto landed sofly beside the crater, waiting for the smoke to clear. When it did, everyone saw Zaku, completely broken and disfigured, with his legs sticking up in the air. Zaku's legs went limp and he fell down in a very unhealthy looking position. Naruto began to change back to his normal human self.

"That is what you get when you call me a demon, and hurt one of my team mates. I hope you learn your lesson in the afterlife."

Hayate didn't need to check. Zaku was well and trully six feet under. He coughed, and pointed a hand at Naruto.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto turned to the audience.

"I expect to see both of you, Lee and Gaara in the finals. Don't dissapoint me."

With that, Narutodid a far less flashy version of the Hiraishin,body flickering back to his team mates position. Sasuke shook his head, Yukiko squealed and Sakura looked in shock.

"Wasn't that going a bit far to protect me, Naruto-Kun?"

"Nah, he deserved it."

Sasuke gave Naruto a high five.

"Show off."

"Heh. Looks like we both copied the same guy, eh?"

"Seems so."

Yukiko couldn't contain herself any more and latched onto Naruto.

"That was awesome, Naruto-Kun! Do you think I could learn that technique?"

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, you have everything I needed to perform it, so I'd say so."

Naruto turned to Lee, who was still dumbfounded as to how Naruto had managed to make his own, far more powerful version of his trump card.

"Lee, I have to thank you for performing the Lotus in the second test. I managed to stay concious just long enough to see it."

Yukiko gave him another hug. People just stared. Was she a demon too? Hayate once again coughed to get some attention.

"The next match's contestants will now be selected."

Everyone turned to the board and looked at the names flashing through the screen. It finally stopped on two people.

**Yakushi Yukiko**

**VS**

**Inuzuka Kiba**

"Contestants for this round, please step up."

Kiba wasn't so sure if he was lucky or not. He put Akumaru on the ground and waitied for the match to begin. Hayate saw they were both ready.

"Please begin the 3rd match."

Kiba formed the seal of the ram and announced his technique.

"Gijyuu Ninpou, Shiykyaku no Jutsu."

Kiba's nails started lengtheneing and turned into claws. Yukiko and Naruto both burst out laughing.

"Oi! What the hell's so funny?"

"The fact that that's the most half assed mimicry technique I've ever seen! Yukiko-Chan, show dog boy what a REAL mimicry technique looks like!"

Yukiko suddenly closed her eyes and began forming strange hand seals that were foreign to everyone but herself and Naruto. Kiba's sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai turned to Naruto and questioned him.

"What kind of hand seals are they?"

Naruto turned to her and smiled.

"Ones that humans could never hope to understand."

Yukiko finished her last hand seal and announced her technique.

"Demon Mimicry Ninja Technique, Full Body!"

When those words left her mouth, Yukiko's cainines began to lengthen and her fingernails began to grow into claws. When she opened her eyes, Kiba noticed in shock that they were no longer violet, but they were now emerald green with gold rims. Her pupils had also elongated into elipses, with pointed ends at the top and bottom of her pupil. She let out a hiss.

"**This is a REAL mimicry technique, Kiba."**

Kiba was starting to get scared. He was sure that she was a demon as well. He lowered himself onto all fours and prepared to charge.

"**Entertain me, Kiba. Show me why the Inuzuka Clan is famous for their affiliation withcanines and why they have such unusual jutsus."**

Kiba growled andflashed forward, far too fast for the majority of people to see. He attempted a right hook to Yukiko's face. However, the way she blocked it was completely unrealistic. She simply held up two fingers and stopped the attack with just the fingers. She had her eyes closed the whole time. Kiba jumped back and attempted one of his trademark techniques.

"Tsuuga!"

Yukiko made no move to block. She just pulled her fist back and waitied until Kiba was close enough before punching into the grey whirlwind. Kiba's attack stopped when he met her fist. Kiba began to drop to the ground, but Yukiko picked him up and threw him at the wall, causing several of Kiba's bones to fracture. Yukiko slowly walked up to him and picked him up by the collar of his jacket.

"**Why are you so weak? I thought the Inuzuka's were heralded for their beast like strength. To me, you're nothing more than a kawaii little puppy. This is your first and final warning. Give up, before I decide to beat you into submission."**

Kiba couldn't believe that he was being beaten so badly. He attempted to hit Yukiko in the head to temporarily weaken her grip on him and allow him an openeing to escape. Yukiko didn't even block it however, and Kiba's fist slammed into her temple. Yukiko didn'tflinch. When she opened her eyes again, she looked straight into Kiba's.

"**That almost hurt. I see you still have some fight left in you. How about we start with your right hand?"**

Yukiko grabbed Kiba's right wrist and began applying pressure. Kiba screamed as the sound of bone under extreme pressure was heard throught the arena. Naruto decided it would be best for Yukiko to show him some leinency.

"Oi, Yukiko-Chan! Stop playing with your food! Just finish him already!"

Yukiko glanced up at Naruto in mock hatred.

"**You better thank Naruto-Kun, Kiba. If it wasn't for him, I'd take my time your breaking bones until you passed out. But I'll just knock you unconcious. Less fun, but it works just as well."**

Yukiko brought her knee up to Kiba's stomach, making him cough up a stream of blood before he slumped in Yukiko's hand. Yukiko dropped him and began walking back up to her team. Everyone was wary as Yukiko passed them, but she just smiled at them before arriving back at her own team's position.

"Yukiko-Chan, you should really learn not to play with your food. Just a quick clean win is all you need."

Yukiko did the irrisistible 'puppy pout' technique, to get what she wanted from Naruto. True to form, Naruto just sighed and hugged her before giving her a small kiss. The others wondered if Naruto and Yukiko could both really be so violent. They seemed like such a normal couple until they were fighting. Dosu took particular interest in them.

_'Seems like Team Seven of Konoha sure is one group of violent kids...'_

Hayate coughed again, catching everyone's attention. Yukiko was getting worried about the examiner.

"Hayate, you should really get that cough seen to."

"It's fine. Please look to the board for the next match."

The names cycled through and eventually stopped on two:

**Sabakyu no Gaara**

**VS**

**Dosu Kinata**

Naruto and Yukiko had been waiting to see their fellow demon container in action. And considering his opponent was a decent ninja from the Sound, they should be able to get a little bit of an idea of what he was capeable of. They stared at each other, and once Hayate saw they were both ready, he brought his hand down.

"Please begin."

Dosu noticed something flying towards him and he held up his amplifier and blocked the attack.

"Well, then, I take it you are ready to die?"

Naruto turned his back and snickered, Yukiko just shook her head. They both announced their verdict in unison.

"He's dead."

The other's turned to them for an explination. Lee shook his head in dissagreement.

"No, he's strong. I think he can win."

"Lee, did he win against me in the forest?"

"No..."

"Trust me. Gaara is one of us, a demon container. Sure, his demon is inferior to both mine and Yukiko-Chan's, but he's achived the full potential of his demon. Yukiko-Chan's unlocked about half of hers, which makes her about equal to Gaara, while I've unlocked about twenty percent of mine, also making me about equal to him. That's why I said I was only interested in seeing you and Gaara in the finals. You, Gaara, Yukiko-Chan, Sasuke and myself are in a league of our own. Dosu had the worst luck possible matching up with Gaara. That's because, unlike us, Gaara is a psychotic killer. He will show Dosu no mercy. He's just going to toy with Dosu and then kill him in a rather sadistic manner."

Everyone looked at Naruto in shock This was a lot of information to digest at one time. Sasuke looked pleased however.

"So, you still conider me a threat, eh Naruto?"

"You bet. However, I would like to avoid fighting you if possible. Same goes for Yukiko-Chan. You're both invaluable friends to me, who I could never bring myself to harm, even if it meant giving up the Chunin exam to avoid doing so."

Now everyone was dumbfounded. Naruto? Give up? Those two words didn't fit into the same sentence, except if a word like 'never' was inserted into the mixture somewhere. Yukiko kissed Naruto while Sasuke gave a genuine smile, which was becoming more and more regular these days.

"You're such a sweetie, Naruto-Kun. Always looking out for your friends."

"Heh, I'd never have admitted it before, but you'd make a great Chunin, if not Jounin one day."

Naruto smiled and turned back to the match.

"Let's see how long it takes the Sound nin to figure out he's totally, fatally, utterly screwed."

Down in the arena, Dosu had begun his charge. He pulled the sleave up up to reveal his weapon, and aimed a punch for Gaara's face. What few expected however, was a wall of sand to come up in between Gaara and Dosu's hand. Dosu let off a brief sound blast before jumping back to rethink his strategy. The sound tried to find a way through the wall of sand, but the sand just absorbed the sound and quivered.

"Is that it?"

Dosu looked up to see Gaara hadn't moved. Dosu was now getting very worried.

"There isn't enough... BLOOD!"

A wave of sand worked its way across the floor towards Dosu, who tried to jump over it. However the sand reached up and grabbed his foot, hurling him against the wall. Dosu looked up quivering from the pain to see another wave of sand fast approaching. Dosu attempted to move out of the way, but he was far to slow. He caught the wave of sand full in the chest. Dosu screamed in pain, before he slumped to the ground. Dosu was already out cold, but apparently Gaara hadn't had enough. Hayate knew this match was over.

"Gaara, enough. Dosu has passed out, thereby rendering him unconcious. You've won. Please return to the stands."

Gaara paid no attention. Hayate was about to get in the way of the sand attack when someone did it for him.

"Gaara, when the examiner says the match is over, it's over. If you continue, you won't be able to go on to the finals. That wouldn't be any fun would it? You wouldn't get to fight me. So just do as Hayate says for now. I'll make up for this loser's weakness in the finals, ok?"

This seemed to have the desired effect on Gaara. He drew all the sand back into his gourd, the last of it forming a cork to seal it. He turned to the side and looked at Naruto.

"Very well, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Winner, Sabakyu no Gaara."

Gaara surrounded himself in a swirl of sand and warped back to his team's position. Hayate looked up at the board. The names began scrolling again through the remaining Genin. It came up with a match that no one had expected:

**Hyuga Neji**

**VS**

**Hyuga Hinita**

Hinita stiffened up. Neji just smirked and jumped down to the floor of the arena. Hinita made her way slowly down to the ground, hoping to delay the inevitable. Once they were facing each other, Neji spoke up.

"I never thought I'd have the pleasure of fighting you, Hinita-Sama."

"Neji-Niisan..."

Yukiko smiled sadly.

"What a match up... The heir of the Main House VS the heir of the Branch House. It's clear that Neji will win though. His power dwarfs hers. She should give up."

"Nah, Hinita may be about to get beaten to a pulp, but she's good with words. She will lose the physial battle, but she will triumph mentally."

Everyone turned back to the match. Hayate brought his hand down and jumped back.

"Before we fight, I'd like to say something, Hinita-Sama. You don't make a good shinobi. Forfeit now! You are too kind, you wish for harmony and avoid conflict. You agree with others, never resisting..."

Neji continued to talk trash Hinata. After a while Naruto had heard enough of Neji's voice.

"Oi! Hinata! Are you going to let that bastard trash talk you like that? Chin up! As for you, Neji, I suggest you stop acting like everything's decided by fate alone. If you're such a 'great shinobi' yourself, shut the hell up and prove it! Talk's cheep! I want to see why you're called the person blessed with more Hyuga talent than anyone else. Right now, all I see is an arrogant bastard who thinks he knows absolutely everything! If you can beat Hinata, I might just start believeing in your 'title'! Go on, Hinita! Kick his ass! I know you can do it!"

Hinita looked up at the object of her admiriation. She lowered her eyes.

_'Arigato... Naruto-Kun...'_

Hinita looked back up at Neji with nothing but determination in her eyes. She formed a seal and activated her clan's Bloodline Limit.

Neji frowned, and got into his juken fighting stance and Hinita did the same.

"Neji-Niisan. Let us fight!"

They charged at each other and began pumping large amounts of chakra out of their hands in an attempt to damage to opponent's chakra coils. They traded turns attacking and evading, before they eventually both swithched to an offensive attack. They both landed an attack on each other and the room went silent. Eventually, Hinata stiffened and coughed up blood. She set her eyes into a determined glare and pushed Neji's arm away from her neck and attempted to strike his heart. Neji used one hand to grab Hinata's attacking arm and the other to strike a Tenketsu in her arm. Hinata began panting heavily. Neji pulled back her jacket sleeve, revealing her struck tenketsu. Hinata looked at her arm in astonishment.

"So from the beginning you were..."

"Correct.. I was sealing your tenketsu."

Neji struck Hinata, sending her flying,landing on her back.

"This is the difference in our unchangable powers. The moment you said you wouldn't run, you set yourself up for regret. You should be in despair right now. Forfeit."

Hinata started struggling back to her feet.

"I... NEVER... go back on my word... That is my way of the ninja..."

Hinata looked up to Naruto, who smiled back at her and nodded. Hinata smiled back.

Hinata charged back at Neji, this time unable to use her juken fighting style, due to her tenketsus being sealed. She fought Neji with her remaining power before Neji executed a cruel juken strile to Hinata's heart. Hinata fell forward. Neji got back up andsmirked.

"From the start, your attacks have done nothing."

Hayate was sure this was the end.

"Hinata is unable to continue, and therefore-"

"Don't even think about stopping the match yet!"

Everyone turned to Naruto. Naruto pointed at Hinata.

"This is where Hinata gets her revenge of sorts. Watch"

Hinata slowly got up. She was stuggling to stand. Everyone wondered what sort of 'revenge' Hinata could possibly get in that condition. Neji voiced everyone's concerns

"Why do you stand? You'll really die if you push yourself anymore."

"It's not over..."

"Acting tough is useless. You can barely stand, I can see that. From the moment you were born, the responsibility of the Hyuga main house has been forced onto you. You have always hated yourself for your own weakness. But people cannot change. That is destiny. Tere's no need to suffer anymore. Let it go!"

"That's not true, Neji-Niisan. Because I can see it... It's not me at all... The person lost and suffering within the destiny of the main and branch houses... Is you, Neji-Niisan."

Neji snapped. He charged at Hinata. Hayate started forward.

"Neji-Kun! This match is over! Stop!"

However, Neji disreguarded Hayate and continued his charge at Hinata. All of the leaf Jounin instructors apart from Asumaheld onto some part of Neji's body, preventing him from moving. Naruto and Yukiko were also standing in between Neji and Hinata.

"What is the meaning of this? Does the head family get special treatment?"

"Neji, drop it. You made a passionate promise with me that you wouldn't argue about the main family during this exam."

At this point in time, Hinata's organs decided to rupture. Hinata fell to the ground, coughing up huge chunks of blood. Kurenai ran towards Hinata, but Naruto blocked her path.

"Naruto, let me see my student!"

"No. Let Yukiko-Chan heal her."

Yukiko was already standing over Hinata, green chakra rolling off her in waves, forming many complex and foreign hand seals. Yukiko took about thirty seconds before announcing her technique.

"Healing Type: Healing Wind!"

The room darkened slightly, and an intricate circle appeared on the floor with Hinata at the center. The circle was filled with a brilliant pattern. The edges of the circle began to form whisps of golden brown light that spiralled around the circumfrance of the circle, getting higher and higher before Yukiko gave a breif and strained "HA!"

The spirals around the circle's edge began to fly up in straight lines, before converging on the centre and blasting into Hinata. Hinata showed no signs of having this energy slamming into her body. The circle on the floor faded away, and the room lightened again. Hinata's expression slowly morphed from one of pain into a very tranquil look. Yukiko was panting from exertion. Naruto stepped out of the way of Kurenai, who ran over to check on her student. She checked her vitals, and noticed she was in a deep and peaceful sleep. Kurenai looked up at Yukiko questioningly.

"Hinata-San would have died in about three minutes if I hadn't saved her. I doubt even the medics on duty here could have saved her. She was lucky I got to her when I did. Even if I had performed that technique 20 seconds later, it would have probably been too late."

Yurenai nodded.

"Arigato, Yukiko."

"No problem, Kurenai-Sensei. I'm a medic. It's my job to save people. As for you!"

She turned to Neji.

"All of your attacks were aiming to kill, weren't they? How the hell can you do that to a blood relative of yours?"

"That's none of your business. Stay out of the Hyuga's affairs."

"Oi, jackass."

Everyone turned to Naruto.

"NO ONE talks to my girlfriend like that. Take that back immediately."

"Are you going to make me?"

"Yup."

Naruto used Hiraishin no Jutsu to warp at Neji at an incredible speed. He gave Neji a solid blow to the gut and Neji staggered back, wincing in pain.

"I will repeat myself one more time. Take it back."

Neji just grimiced and prepared to attack. Hayate broke the fight up.

"Both of you, if you continue this, I will disqualify you from the main matches. Return to the stands immediately."

Naruto just 'hmphed' and Neji glared in anger. Naruto passed close to Neji and whipsered in his ear.

"When we meet in the main matches, you're dead. That is, assuming you even get to fight me."

Neji stiffened up and gave a look of horror at Naruto. Everyone else was returning to their places in the stands. Neji shook his head and followed them. Hayate coughed.

"I appologise for the delay. The next contestants are about to be announced."

Everyone once again concerntraited on the board. The names it chose this time were:

**Tsurugi Misumi**

**VS**

**Kankuro**

Kankuro smiled and jumped over the edge of the balcony.

_'Finally. It's my turn.'_

"Fighters, begin when ready."

Hayate jumped back. Misumi decided to warn this punk from the Sand what he was getting himself into.

"Unlike my team mate, Yoroi, I show no mercy to my enemies, even little runts like you. I'll warn you now. If I get to use my techniques on you, it's over. Give up now."

Kankuro just stared at the ninja. Misumi sighed.

"I will end this quickly."

Kankuro finally responded by pulling the bandaged object off his back.

"Then so will I."

Misumi however, didn't intend to give Kankuro the chance.

"I won't allow you to do anything!"

Kankuro blocked the punch, but knew something was up when Turugi smiled. Turuigi's hand suddenly wrapped it's way around Kankuro's arm and pulled his body into a completely lock. Misumi's arms had extended to wrap themselves armound Kankuro's arms and neck. Misumi started applying pressure.

"In order for me to gather information, my body has been altered to fit into any space. I can keep squeezing until your bones break. If you don't give up, I'll keep squeezing harder. I don't know what kind of ninja tool you use, but you can't use it like this. But try anything funny and I won't wait for you to give up, I'll break your neck immediately. This is your final warning. Give up."

Kankuro smirled through the pain.

"Heh. No way."

"What! Do you want to die!"

"You're the one who's going to die."

A sickenening snap could be heard throughout the arena. Most people just looked on in disgust.

Misumi sighed.

"You baka, you made me kill you."

However, Kankuro turned his head around as if his neck really was broken to look at Misumi. The area around his face was peeling, revealing a puppet underneath.

"Then is it my turn now?"

Misumi looked on in horror as the puppet's arms wrapped around his torso and began constricting. He also noticed bandaged object beside him unravel to reveal the real Kankuro.

"A puppet user?"

Kankuro smiled to himself.

"If I break your bones, you'll be even softer, right? I'll go easy on your neck."

Misumi started saying 'I give up', but was cut off by another sickening snap that echoed throught the arena. Hayate coughed and announced the result.

"This battle cannot be continued. Winner, Kankuro."

Kankuro walked back up to his team, leaving the medics to take Misumi off the field. Hayate looked back up at the board. The next set of names were announced.

**Akimichi Chouji**

**VS**

**Yakushi Kabuto**

"Fighters, please step up."

Kabuto stood opposite Chouji and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Hayate saw they were both ready, and nodded for the match to begin.

"Please begin."

"I assume that since you're Yukiko's brother, you specialise in medical techniques?"

"I have some minor medical, techniques, yes. Why?"

"No real reason, just interested."

"I see. Then please prepare yourself."

Chouji used his multisize technique and was about to use his meat tank technique when Kabuto closed the small gap and slapped Chouji with a green chakra covered hand. People just stared at Kabuto for a second. Had he just... Slapped him? With a chakra powered slap no less? Yukiko signed, knowing instantly what technique her bother had used.

"Chakra scalpel."

"So, that's that, huh?"

"Yup."

True to their words, Chouji returned to normal and clutched his stomach. He groaned in pain, before falling over. Kabuto sighed, and bent over Chouji and began healing him. Chouji looked up and gazed at Kabuto through half closed eyes.

"Why are you... Healing me?"

"Because, despite the fact that you're an opponent at the moment, you're still a fellow Leaf nin. I don't like seeing my comrades die on me."

"I see... You're a good guy, Kabuto..."

"Thanks, Chouji. Oh and by the way, I'd love to study with your clan sometime. Their abilites and use of clan designed food suppliments to boost their power levels intrigues me."

"Heh. Pop by my place some time. I'm sure dad would be happy to help..."

With that, Chouji passed out. Hayate coughed and pointed to Kabuto.

"Winner: Yakushi Kabuto."

"Good job, Niisan!"

Kabuto smiled and waved to his sister.

"Thanks, Yukiko-Chan."

Kabuto made his way up to stand by his sister and her team. Naruto looked at the remaining competitiors.

_'One from the Sound, one from the Sand and four from the Leaf... Most of the people left, I have no idea as to what their abilites are... This should be interesting.'_

Everyone looked up at the board to see what the next match was.

**Haruno Sakura**

**VS**

**Yamanaka Ino**

This battle was a strange match up. Two childhood friends turned rivals.

Sakura looked down at the ring hoplessly. Sasuke in a rare move, put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, you'll be fine. Just believe in yourself."

Sakura looked up at Sasuke, smiled and nodded.

"You're right, Sasuke-Kun. I won't lose to Ino-Pig!"

"That's the spirit Sakura-Chan! Go teach her who's boss!"

"Thank you, Naruto-Kun."

"Good luck, Sakura-San."

"Thanks, Yukiko-San."

With that, both girls went down to the ring andtook their stances, glaring at each other in grim determination. Ino was the first to speak.

"Sakura, I never thought I'd be fighting you."

Sakura undid her forehead protector and retied it to her forehead. Ino did the same and they waited for the word to start.

"Please begin."

Sakura and Ino charged. Sakura started off with a Bunshin no Jutsu, making two copies of herself. Ino was quick to comment.

"This isn't an academy graduation exam! A textbook jutsu like that won't work against me!"

Sakura concerntraited the chakra to her feet, and lept at Ino. Sakura dispelled her Bunshins and lept through the smoke and punched Ino in the face, sending her flying back.

"I'm no longer the crybaby Sakura you once knew! If you still think I am, you'll regret it. Fight me seriously, Ino."

"I was hoping you'd say that. As you wish. Here I come!"

They ran at each other again, trading punches. They each blocked the other's punch. They both lept back and threw a shuriken at the other. Sakura and Ino both charged in and and landed a punch to each other's face. They got up and looked at each other panting. Ino snapped.

"There's just no way you could be even with me!"

"True, I'm not. Someone who grows her hair just too look pretty will never be able to keep up with me."

"You better stop disrespecting me."

With that, Ino pulled out a kunai and cut off her own hair.

"I don't need this any more!"

Ino's team looked on in horror

"Oh man, she's completely snapped..."

Sakura just smiled at her victory.

"So simple..."

"I'm going to force 'I give you' to come out of your mouth!"

"Shintenshin no Jutsu? Wow, you really are desparate..."

"Who cares! Prepare to lose, Sakura!"

"If you miss, it's over, you know that right?"

"Ninpou, Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Sakura had already began running, and stopped about a few steps away. Slowly, Sakura raised her head.

"You lose... Ino..."

Shikamaru slapped his forehead.

"Just as I thought."

Sakura began to move towards Ino, only to find that her foot was stuck. She looked down to see a string of chakra and hair was wrapped around her ankle. She followed the string through Ino's hair to her hands, which were placed on the ground.

"You fell for it, Sakura. This is it. Now, I will use the REAL Shintenshin no Jutsu. I have a 100 percent chance of success now. Ninpou, Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Both girls once again slumped. Again, Sakura was the first to raise her head.

"You lose... Sakura..."

Everyone sighed. Ino had as good as won. The Ino controlled Sakura raised her hand.

"I Haruno Sakura would like to for-"

Naruto intterupted.

"Oi, are you going to lose to that pittiful technique, Sakura-Chan? You've come so far! Join us in the main matches! Don't let us down!"

Ino controlled Sakura just looked up at the screaming blonde.

_'How annoying...'_

Hayate prompted Sakura.

"What is it, you want to forfeit?"

Ino forced Sakura to smile, but she stiffened and clutched her head.

_'Jeez, Naruto-Kun can be annyoing some times, but he's right. I've come too far to lose to lose now.'_

_'What? Sakura? What is this?'_

_'Welcome to my mind, Ino. Now, if you don't get out of my body right now, you're going to pay.'_

Hayate prompted her again.

"Well, which is it?"

"Forfeit? Like hell I'll forfeit!"

Sakura threaded her fingers together and muttered a "kai", dropping Sakura's body to the ground. Both girls got up shakily, panting. They launched at each other, giving one final blow to each other's heads, knocking their forehead protectors off and taking one last look at each other before they both passed out. Hayate surveyed the scene.

"Both fighters are unable to continue. This match is a double knock out, meaning no one from this match progresses."

Kakashi and Asumaflashed down to the stage to pick up their students.

"That was a good match, eh Kakashi?"

"Yeah. I can't believe Sakura's grown so much. Ino has a a lot too, hasn't she?"

"Yeah."

They both reappeared back upat the stands and put them next to each other leaning up against the wall. Everyone crouded around the girls to check on their condition. Yukiko and Kabuto looked them over, before turning and smiling to everyone.

"There's no need for medical attention. They'll both wake up soon."

"That's good to hear."

Hayate coughed again, trying to get everyone's attention. Naruto was getting annoyed.

"You know, Hayate, you don't have to cough to get our attention. You could just say 'please pay attention, the next match is being announced' or something."

Hayate just coughed again, saying nothing. Naruto just rolled his eyes and leaned on the railing. Everyone turned to the board. The next set of names were:

**Temari**

**VS**

**TenTen**

"Fighters, please step up."

Both female ninja stepped up. Hayate brought his hand down and lept back.

"Please begin."

Teamri opened her battle fan part way to reveal a blue circle.

"This is one. When it gets to three, you've finished."

Tenten smirled and pulled out some kunai and threw it at Temari. Temari blocked them with her fan.

"I seriously don't hope you expected to defeat me with that. Two"

Temari had opened her fan up to reveal a second blue circle. Tenten knew she was going to have to pull out the big guns, and removed a set of scrolls from her belt and laid them out on the ground in front of her. She bit her thumbs and smeared her blood up the length of the scrolls, before picking them up and launching them into the air. Gai looked on in suprise.

"Tenten said she was saving them for the main matches... She must be in trouble to pull it out so quickly..."

The scrolls formed a double helix shape Tenten jumped up into the middle of the scrolls and pressed her hands to the scrolls in a rapid series of swipes that brought a weapon of some description out from the scrolls each time her hands came into contact with the them. She then proceeded to launch them in a blizzard of metal at Temari. Temari just smirked.

"Three."

Temari blocked all of them and laughed.

"Is that the best you can do?"

"I'm not done yet!"

Tenten had secretly attached every single weapon she had launched from the scroll to a wire which was connected to her hands. She pulled them up again and then flung them back at Temair who just laughed. She swung her fan, releasing a giant gust of wind. The wind turned into a tornado and surrounded Tenten, cutting into her skin. She shrieked in agony until the whirlwind died down. Tenten landed right on the top of Temari's fan.

"How boring."

Lee saw what was about to happen and lept down just in time to catch his team mate, who Temari had thrown off her battle fan.

"Nice catch."

"Is that what you do to someone who tried her hardest?"

"I don't care. Take her and get out of here."

Lee scowled, but decided it'd be better to just retreat for now.

"Winner, Temari. Please look to the board for the next match."

Everyone focused again on the board.

**Nara Shikamaru**

**VS**

**Kin Tsuchi**

"Fighters please step up."

Hayate noticed they were both ready and brought his hand down and jumped back.

"Please begin."

"Man this is troublesome... And I have to fight a girl too..."

"Then I'll end it quickly."

Shikamaru formed a familiar hand seal and announced his technique.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

"Ha! Such a one trick pony! I just have to avoid your shadows and I'm safe."

Kin launched two needles with bells attached to them. Shikamaru dodged them and looked behind him when he heard the sound of bells.

"Bells? That's an old trick. Next, you'll launch two needles again. One with a bell, one without, hoping that I won't notice the one without the bell right?"

"You talk too much!"

Kin launched another two needles, which Shikamaru also dodged. He then noticed that the first set of bells jingled again.

_'What! She was using a string to control the bells?'_

This distraction was all Kin needed to get an advantage. She launched another set of needles at Shikamaru, who bore the full force of the attack. He collapsed to the ground Kin just laughed.

"You're not such a tough guy you know-"

Kin stopped dead. She couldn't control her body.

"Wha? My body!"

"Ha! Finally, Kagenane no Jutsu success."

"But you shadow isn't anywhere!"

"Oh come on, do you really think strings that high off the ground have a shadow?"

Come to think of it, it did look a little odd. The 'string's' shadows began to lengthen and thicken. Shikamaru laughed and pulled out a Shuriken. Kin mirrored his movements.

"What the hell are you doing? If you go through with this, we'll both be killed!"

"We'll see! We'll just keep throwing shurikens until one of us falls."

"Stop, baka!"

Just as the shuriken was about to make contact with Shikamaru's face, he lent back and performed a back flip.

_'Bah, he was just bluffing-'_

Kin didn't even get to finish her thought, as she leant her head back, it smacked into the wall behind her, knocking her unconcious.

"Ha! If you're a shinobi, you need to fight with knowledge of your surroundings. Even if we moved the same, the distance to the wall behind us was different."

"Winner, Nara Shikamaru."

Nartuo was impressed. He was a lazy guy, but when he put his mind to it, he could create some brilliant strategies. Hayate coughed.

"Could the final two fighters please step up?"

Aburame Shino and Rock Lee stood facing each other. Hayate nodded and brought his hand down in between them, before jumping back.

"Please begin."

Lee charged in and Shino's bugs started to surround his arms. Lee started off with a familiar move to him.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

Lee's kick collided with Shino's neck, but his body started turning black and Lee's foot sank into the Bug Bunshin's neck. Lee managed to get himself free and gave himself some space.

"Bugs? Very interesting."

"You are a Taijutsu specialist. This will indeed be an interesting match. Let us continue."

"As you wish."

Lee took another charge at Shino, who's bugs came to a defensive position. This time, Shino created a wall of bugs to stop Lee from getting close. The battle went on for at least five minutes. Shino decided to take the offensive. He sent his bugs to try and finish Lee.

"Destruction Bugs!"

Lee didn't know what these 'destruction bugs' were, but they didn't sound friendly. Lee started doing back flips to get away from the advancing wall of bugs. He saw a second wave of bugs approaching from his left, backing him into the corner of the arena. Naruto smiled.

_'What will you do now, Lee?'_

Just as the bugs closed in for the kill, Lee jumped and began back flipping up onto the top of the stone statue of the ram hand seal. Lee sighed. He had no choice. He turned to his sensei.

"Gai-Sensei, may I remove them please?"

Gai gave it a moment's thought before nodding. Lee sat down and pulled his orange leg covers down to reveal a set of weights. Naruto smiled.

"Old fashioned training method, but very effective."

Lee held up the weights that had the label 'Guts' written on them many times.

"Yosh! Now I can move much easier!"

Lee dropped the weights. Everyone watched as they sailed to the ground in slow motion. When they hit the ground, they sent huge plumes of smoke into the air. Naruto shook his head and laughed. Sakura had those anime white eyes with no irises or pupils and her mouth hanging open, with a complimentary stray hair sticking out at an odd angle. Shino raised an eyebrow in suprise, which was the most facial movement anyone had gotten out of him so far. Kakashi held his hand infront of his mouth.

"Isn't that a bit much, Gai?"

Gai just smiled. He looked at Lee, who seemed to be waiting for something. Gai put his middle and index finger together and pointed them towards the arena.

"Go, Lee!"

"Yes Sir!"

Lee jumped up with almost three times the speed he had with the weights on. Shino raised both eyebrows in confusion, before raising his bugs in a shield around himself. Lee appeared behind him and delivered a lightening fast kick, which cleared out a small section of bugs. He dissapeared and reappeared somewhere else around the sheild of bugs, and punched through them, just missing Shino's head. Naruto knew that Lee was just toying with Shino. Shino tried to think up of a plan to stop Lee, but he couldn't come up with anything. Lee appeared infront of Shino, giving him a puch to the face. Shino went flying back, landing on a carpet of bugs which softened the impact. Shino got back up. He took a step forward before he held up his arms sending bugs flying towards Lee. Lee dissapeared and reappeared directly under Shino, giving him a kick to the chin launching him up into the air. Lee appeared behind him and unwrapped his bandages from around his arms and encased Shino in them. Shino knew he'd been beaten and just accepted fate.

"Omote Renge!"

Lee had sensed that Shino had given up, and so had made the Omote Renge far less painful than it could have been, however that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. Lee landed on the edge of the small crater. Shino shakily got to his feet before falling onto his hands and knees.

"I give up. You win."

Lee smiled and walked over to Shino and sat down next to him to recover from opening the first Celestial Gate and using Omote Renge. Lee smiled at Shino.

"You are a very powerful ninja. You should be proud of yourself."

"I have one request."

"What would that be?"

"Get as far in the main matches as you can so me losing doesn't look so bad."

Lee laughed softly.

"Very well, I promise you I will go all out during the main matches and get as far as I can."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Shino."

With that, Anko turned on here mic and addressed everyone still present.

"Well that wraps the prelims up. I would like everyone who won their match to come down here please."

All 10 of them who had won formed a row in front of Anko. Anko smiled.

"Congratulations on getting the right to compete in the main matches. I have in my hand a box. I want you all to pick out one piece of paper each and when everyone has one, I want you to tell me in turn what your number is."

Sasuke was first. He picked a piece of paper out of the box. Kabuto was next, then Yukiko, Naruto, Shikamaru, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Lee, and lastly Neji. Anko moved back infront of them.

"Ok, Starting with Sasuke, Tell me your numbers."

Sasuke: 7

Kabuto: 6

Yukiko: 10

Naruto: 1

Shikamaru: 8

Gaara: 5

Temari: 9

Kankuro: 3

Lee: 4

Neji: 2

Morino Ibiki was scribbling furiously on a clip board as they read out their numbers. Finally he finished and showed them what he had been writing.

"This is the ladder for the main matches."

Everyone peired at the clip board. This is what it said:

**First Round, First Division:** Uzumaki Naruto Vs Hyuga Neji, Kankuro Vs Rock Lee, Gaara Vs Yakushi Kabuto.

**First Round, Second Division:** Uchiha Sasuke Vs Nara Shikamaru, Temari Vs Yakushi Yukiko.

Naruto lept into the air.

"YATTA! All the matches I wanted!"

Yukiko giggled at Naruto's antics. Sasuke smiled. Gaara was getting impatient.

"When do the matches start?"

The hokage took over the proceedings.

"Well, it will take some time for the feudal lords and royalty to get here. We have set the date for exactly one month from now. Until then, you are free to train or rest as you please. Before I dismiss you, are there any questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand.

"Yes Shikamaru?"

"This is a tournament menaing there's only going to be one winner, right? Does that mean that there's only one person going to become a Chunin?"

"No, not quite. There will be judges such as myself, Kazekage, and other various feudal lords. We will be deciding on who becomes a Chunin based off your performances. As you progress through the tournament, you will have more chances to impress the judges. However, if you impress the judges enough and still lose in the first round, you can still become a Chunin."

Temari realised what this meant.

"That means that everyone could become a Chunin..."

"That's correct. It could also mean that no one becomes a Chunin. Are there any other questions?"

No one spoke up.

"Very well, thank you for all the effort you exerted in these trials. You are dismissed until next month."

With that, Naruto turned and walked out with his team, all of them anxious to begin training.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** And I said I would never do another chapter like this again! Man, it was exhausting to write this chapter, to say the least. Anyways, it's past 2 am now, so I'm going to finish up and go to bed. Oh and you wanted to know why I lost faith in Naruto as a series?

**OK SPOILER ALERT! READ PAST HERE ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW!**

Sasuke managed to get inside Naruto's mind and found the Kyubi. So what you say? Well, Sasuke put his hand on the Kyubi and one shotted him! And I mean KILLED him! No technique or anything! WTF is with that? I seriously think the creators of the manga were on drugs when they made that issue. I mean, the Yondaime wasn't strong enough to kill it, yet Sasuke can just tap it's snout and blow it to pieces? HOW THE HELL DOES THAT WORK! If someone can explain it to me, I'd be greatful. I've lost all confidence in Naruto now. The fillers are garbage, and they just screwed up years of work they put into the manga by doing THAT!

Arg, enough ranting. Until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula


	13. Enter Jiraiya!

**A/N:** This episode will see the introduction of Jiraiya! Instead of Naruto learning to summon during his month's training, he'll learn the Rasengan (and the one handed one too, none of that kage bunshin help, because he's already understood the basics of it from the Rasengan scroll.)

The thing you'd never hear a character say quote for this chapter: **NARUTO:** "Sasuke's right! I AM a dobe! prances around and sings I'm a dobe! I'm a dobe! I'm a dobe!"

To NekoGuyFan: Thank you for explaining that to me. My faith in Naruto is restored... Somewhat. I still don't like it how Sasuke was able to enter Naruto's mind, though...

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 12:

Enter, Jiraiya!

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Day One of Training, Team Seven's Training Area:**

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Yukiko had turned up to hear what Kakashi had in sotre for them. Apparently he had found the three of them who were entering the main matches teachers to personally train them. In an unprecedented moment in history, Kakashi was already there waiting for them. They stopped, looked at each other, and left. Kalashi looked at them in confusion. About thirty seconds later, they came back and stared at Kakashi, who was still there.

"Is something wrong?"

"You're... Early?"

"Hmmm? I guess so."

"You're a fake aren't you? Kakashi-Sensei is NEVER early!"

"No! Wait! I'm not a fake!"

"GET HIM!"

The four of them jumped at Kakashi, who was waving his hands and sweating bullets. They jumped on him and began pummeling him. After a while, they let up and stood back, the Kakashi look alike however, did not release his henge like they thought he would. He got up with bumps on his head and began swaggering, rubbing his head.

"Did you guys have to hit me so hard?"

"You're... The real Kakashi-Sensei?"

"I thought you would have seen that I wasn't using a henge."

"Eh heh heh, gomen, Kakashi-Sensei."

"Anyway, I've aranged a teacher for you, Naruto and Yukiko."

Sasuke looked suspicious.

"What about me?"

"You're coming with me to train."

Naruto looked crestfallen at this. Kakashi noticed this and smiled.

"Don't worry, Naruto. The teacher I got you and Yukiko is one of the best."

"Really? Who is it?"

"That would be me."

Naruto turned around at the voice. When he saw who it had come from, he screeched and pointed at the man.

"EH! THE CLOSET PERVERT? I BEAT HIM WITH A KAGE BUNSHIN AND A HENGE! I COULD KICK HIS ASS!"

"Really Naruto? Ebisu is a special Jounin like me. He's trained many Hokage hopefuls. He knows the skills required for being Hokage better than anyone apart from maybe the Hokage himself."

Naruto accepted defeat and started walking off with Ebisu before he remembered something. He ran back to Kaakashi and started pulling him over to the side.

"Naruto? What are you doing?"

When Naruto had separated himself from the other, he pulled out the piece of paper that Kabuto had given him during the second test.

"Get this to the old man hokage NOW. This is a tip off to an invasion from the Sand and the Sound during the main matches."

Kakashi became deadly serious.

"You do realise that if this is one of your practical jokes Naruto, the punishment will be severe."

"Do you think I would joke about something like this?"

Kakashi nodded and took the note. He slipped it into his pocket before returning to the group.

"Sorry Sasuke, there's something I have to take care of before we start training."

"The invasion?"

Kakashi again became deadly serious.

"How many of you actually know about this?"

"Just us four and Kabuto, who was the one who tipped us off."

Kakashi didn't question them as to how Kabuto was related to all this, he already had a fairly good idea as to what it was.

"Well then, I'll be back this afternoon, or tomorrow at the latest. Naruto, Yukiko. You two head off with Ebisu while I sort this out."

Naruto grumbled and began trudging off, following Ebisu with Yukiko by his side, leaving the other two of Team Seven with Kakashi.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**At the Konoha Hot Springs:**

"Neh, Ebisu-Sensei, why are we coming to the hot springs? I thought we were training!"

"We are, Naruto-Kun. I am going to teach you how to walk on water."

"EH! SWEET!"

"Ok here we are. I assume you've been taught the tree climbing exercise?"

"Yup!"

"Good, well this is a simmilar concept, however the tree climbing exercise requires a set amount of chakra to stick to the tree. The tree is solid under you and all you have to do is stick to it. In other words, it's a lesson on how to build up a certain amount of chakra. Water walking on the other hand requires you to expell the appropriate amount of chakra from your feet into the water and you must make it match only to the amount necessary to make you float. This chakra control is mutch more difficult than to simply continue to create the same amount of chakra and is meant to be used for control training were you learn to create a set amount of chakra needed to expel for the use of a jutsu. I'll show you know how this knowledge is applied when using the jutsu. Watch closely."

Ebisu gathered the chakra to his feet and stepped onto the hot springs. Suprisingly, he didn't fall through. He just kept walking until he reached the middle of the springs.

"That's how it's done."

"Ok. Ready Yukiko-Chan?"

"Yup. Good luck, Naruto-Kun."

"Same to you Yukiko-Chan."

They both gathered chakra to their feet and took a step onto the water. Yukiko executed it flawlessly due to her perfect chakra control. Naruto on the other hand, wobbled a bit before he fell into the water. Yukiko looked over and laughed, breaking her own concerntraition and she fell in too. They both came to the surface and yelled out in unison.

"HOT!"

"Oh, I should probably have told you this earlier, but this water is 60 degrees. If you continue to fail you'll be turned into a boiled egg."

Naruto and Yukiko got back onto the side of the springs and tried again. Yukiko once again performed flawlessly, steeling herself to not laugh at Naruto if he fell in again. Naruto wobbled again, but he managed to stand upright. Ebisu was beond impressed.

_'To think he'd grasp the concept pf chakra control so quickly... Who'd have imagined you'd progress like this. It is true... There are no short cuts, no matter what you do... Looks like I was wrong about you. You were a much smarter techer than I was and you weren't just a monster fox... You were... A proud Leaf ninja!'_

At this moment, Naruto caught sight of something and shouted, pointing his finger at what he had seen. He lost his concerntraition completely, falling into the water. Yukiko looked at what Naruto had seen and performed something simmilar to Naruto. Ebisu turned in the direction Naruto had pointed and saw an old man spying through a hole in the wall that screened off the women's baths. He was giggling like a little school girl, scribbling furiously on some paper muttering something about 'information gathering' (guessed who it is yet?). Ebisu pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know who you are, but I will not allow such shamless acts in my presence!"

The old man turned and gave a slight "Huh?" at the sight of Ebisu charging him before he bit his thumb, going through a few hand seals and summoning a slightly larger than human frog. Ebisu recognised now who this man was.

"Yuo... You are-"

Ebisu didn't get to finish, as the frog's tongue shot out and gave Ebisu a whallop on the head, knocking him unconcious. Naruto had been analising this, and he finally figured out who this guy was from the description in his dad's box.

"Ji... Jiraiya!"

Jiraiya turned at the mention of his name to see a blonde boy wearing a smaller version of the Yondaime Hokage's clothes. Jiraiya began visably fuming at this, and charged at the boy, picking him up by his collar.

"How dare you think you're good enough to wear the clothes that my student wore!"

Naruto opened his eyes in shock. There was no doubt about it now. This guy was his father's sensei.

"You... You're my father's sensei?"

Jiraiya dropped Naruto and stared at him in disbelief.

_'Now that I think about it, they look almost exactly the same.. If I can just find out his name to make sure...'_

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

Jiraiya dropped Naruto and made a slight bow in appology.

"Gomen. I get angry when people defile the name of such a great man who meant so much to me."

"Don't worry, I would too. You fit the description my dad left perfectly."

Jiraiya brightened considerably at the mention of a chance to hear about other people's opinions of him were.

"Oh what was that? A great, irrisistable, charming man of power?"

"No."

"Eh?"

"He said you were a super perverted, white haired old man who loved frogs."

Jiraiya facefaulted. He couldn't believe his student thought so little of him.

"However, he did say that if I ever saw you, to give you this."

Naruto took out a sopping wet letter. Jiraiya looked at him questioningly.

"You know this letter is useless now, right? The ink would have run making it illegible."

"Do you really think so little of my dad? Just read it."

Jiraiya opened the letter to find that the ink and paper had been strengthened by chakra, making it perfectly legible, despite the outter envelope being saturated. He began reading.

_'Hey sensei. If you're reading this letter, the boy who gave it to you, my son, needs your training. This is my final request to you. Please, train him so that he can protect himself and his friends from Akatsuki. I may have died, but I can't afford to let the last of the Uzumakis die so easily. Personally, I suggest when you get the chance to take him and possibly one of his closest friends away on a trip for two and a half years or so to train him and make him fit to become the future Hokage. Oh and sorry if the description I gave my son of you was a little blunt, but it's true to an extent. _

_P.S: If you DARE pass on your pervertedness to my son, I swear I will come back from my grave to haunt you for all eternity._

_Yours,_

_Uzumaki Arashi.'_

Jiraiya laughed. This was definitely going to be interesting.

"I suppose I could grant your dad's last wish. Alright, sorry about knocking your sensei out cold. Why don't we leave him here and I'll teach you something cool?"

Naruto brightened considerably.

"Really? Like what?"

"I'll show you when we get there. Come on, Naruto."

"Eh, only me? What about my girlfriend?"

Naruto hugged Yukiko to emphasise his point. Yukiko blushed at the sign of love in front of a stranger. Jiraiya looked at Yukiko with hearts in his eyes. A trickle of blood came out of his nose. Naruto used Hiraishin no Jutsu to warp behind Jiraiya and grapple his neck.

"You may have been my father's sensei, but NO ONE looks at my girlfriend like that... Well, except maybe me, but definitely not you!"

"Alright alright, you made your point!"

Naruto released Jiraiya and walked back to Yukiko's side. Jiraiya decided to teach them the summoning technique.

"Well, I'll teach you guys an awesome move! The Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

They both looed non plussed.

"What? Do you know how great summoned frogs are?"

"They're not as cool as kitsunes and cats."

To illistrate their point, they both bit there thumbs and formed the hand seals before slamming their hands down on the ground.

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

Two puffs of smoke appeared. When they cleared, Naruto was sitting atop a four tailed golden kitsune, while Yukiko was sitting on top of a two tailed black cat. Jiraiya was impressed.

"So, you two know how to summon already! That's great!"

Secretly, Jiraiya didn't know what he could teach them. Naruto broke him out of his line of thought.

"Neh, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya facefaulted. Who would call him 'Ero-Sennin?'

"Don't call me that!"

"But my dad said it would be funny to call you Ero-Sennin in front of others. He said it would really piss you off."

Jiraiya restrained himself from punching Naruto clear into next week. He came up with an idea.

"If you ever call me Ero-Sennin again, I won't train you."

"And ignore my dad's last request?"

_'This kid knows how to get people to do what he wants...'_

Jiraiya slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Well, I assume you got that box your dad left you?"

"Yeah."

"Are there any techniques you specifically want to learn from it?"

Naruto remembered one specific one.

"Yeah! The Rasengan!"

Jiraiya brightened considerably. This wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"Well, to teach you the Rasengan, I'll need a few supplies. I assume you know there are three stages?"

Naruto nodded.

"For each stage, I need something to help you train. Can you get everything on this list?"

Jiraiya pulled out a list that had obviously been prepared for just such an occasion. Naruto read over the list.

"Water ballons... Rubber balls? Are we going to have a giant water fight and a game of catch?"

Jiraiya snickered.

"Nope. Just get everything on that list and bring it back here. You'll see why I needed them."

Naruto turned around and walked off towards the shopping district. Yukiko glnced back at Jiraiya.

"Do you have any techniques I could learn, Jiraiya-Sensei?"

Jiraiya thought for a moment.

"Ah! I think I have the perfect technique for you! I'll teach you it once Naruto gets back. In the mean time, why don't you take this closet pervert to the hospital? I'll wait here and continue my... eh heh heh... research..."

Yukiko gave him a disgusted look before she picke Ebisu up and took him to the hospital, leaving Jiraiya to his 'research'.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**About an Hour Later, Back at the Hot Springs:**

Naruto had arrvied back to see Jiraiya continueing his 'research'. Naruto went over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oi, Ero-Sennin. I got everything."

"That's good. Go take a seat and wait until Yukiko gets back."

Naruto went and dumped the bags of rubber balls and water balloons on the ground and took a seat, trying to ignore Jiraiya's giggles. About five or so minutes later, Yukiko appeared again. Naruto pegged one of the rubber balls at Jiraiya's head, causing him to knock his head against the wall. The women in the bath suddenly stopped and looked at where the sound of the thump had come from to hear an old man and a boy arguing.

"Naruto! What the hell did you do that for?"

"You really shouldn't be peeking at the woman's baths anyway, Ero-Sennin."

Once the girls heard this, they ran out of the bath, screaming and covering their bodies with their hands. Jiraiya just sighed.

"Ok, well, let's get started with the training. Firstly, I suggest we go somewhere where we can train in peace. Let's go you two."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**About Thirty Minutes Later, Somewhere In the Forest:**

Jiraiya suddenly stopped next to a stream and turned around. Yukiko and Naruto stopped in front of him.

"This should do nicely. Alright, Yukiko, can you wait for a moment, I'll get Naruto set up then I'll come and teach you."

Yukiko nodded, and sat down beside the steam and began meditating. Jiraiya turned back to Naruto and pulled out a water baloon, filling it with water. He chucked it to Naruto.

"Ok, the first stage. Basically, you have to try and pop that baloon using only chakra. It combines the principle of the tree climbing exercise, which I'm sure you've done, with the principle of the water walking exercise. Watch."

Jiraiya took out another one, filled it with water and sealed it. The baloon started stretching out at odd angles, as if something was struggling to get out. Finally, the balloon popped, water going everywhere. Naruto looked on, trying to analyze what had just happened.

"To further explain it, like with the tree climbing exercise, you must maintain a constant amount of chakra by focusing your mind and keeping that concerntraition. With the water walking exercise, you were taught to release a fixed amount of chakra continuously. So, to do the first step of the Rasengan training, you have to combine those two exercises by creating a continuous flow, and once you have released it, control it. Anyways, I'll leave you to figure out how to apply it. Good luck, Naruto."

Jiraiya walked over to Yukiko, tapped her on the shoulder and began teaching her Ninpou, Hari Jizou. (Ninja Art: Guardian Spikes)

Naruto was focusing on spinning the chakra in the balloon. After about three hours, he had managed to get the ballon almost as flat as a pancake, but it just wouldn't pop. Naruto almost threw the balloon away with fustraition when he remembered something. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the 'Rasengan' scroll. He opened it and began reading the teaching of the first step.

_'There are several ways to make the balloon pop. Probably the easiest way is to get a feeling for spinning the chakra inside the balloon in one direction, and then try adding a counter spin to the already existing spinning chakra.'_

Naruto once again began spinning the chakra, although not as much this time. He then slowly introduced a counter spin into the balloon. It felt very foreign at first and it took him another two hours to understand it. Jiraiya had finished teaching Yukiko the Guardian Spines technique, and they were getting ready to leave.

"Oi, Naruto. We're leaving. You coming?"

"Yeah, just let me try one last time."

Jiraiya and Yukiko were watching now. He could NOT afford to fail in front of them. He focused, and began the first spin. When he felt ready, he created the counter spin, however the ball still held up. Naruto got desperate and decided to add a third direction to the spin, although it took a moment to gently introduce it to the balloon, the balloon started to warp and eventually it popped, sending water all over Naruto's hand and arm. Jiraiya whistled. Yukiko ran up to Naruto and gave him a hug.

"Congratulations, Naruto-Kun!"

"Heh heh, thanks, Yukiko-Chan."

Jiraiya thought about how long it had taken his student to create this technique, in each of its three component stages.

_'It took the Yondaime 3 entire years to complete this Jutsu. Almost half a year to create and master the first stage. Naruto completed it in just one day... Arashi, you created a genius, didn't you?'_

Jiraiya patted Naruto on the shoulder. He then noticed a scroll laying beside Naruto labeled 'Rasengan'. Jiraiya debated whether or not to stop Naruto from looking at that scroll to help him understand the complexity of the jutsu by himself. He then decided to let him have it.

_'It'd probably make him feel more comfortable, more like it's his father training him instead of me.'_

Alright, I want to see both of you here tomorrow morning at 9 am sharp, got it?"

"Yes sir!"

"Ok, Jiraiya-Sensei."

With that, Jiraiya walked off leaving Naruto and Yukiko to head back to their house.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**9 am the Next Day:**

Naruto and Yukiko turned up to see Jiraiya peeking through some bushes giggling. They both knew what was on the other side of that bush. They glared.

"Oh well, at least he's punctual..."

"I'd almost prefer a late teacher to a super pervert..."

At the sound of the voices behind him, Jiraiya turned around to see his two newest students glaring at him. He got up and walked over to them, taking a seat infront of them, motioning for them to sit down as well. When thet both sat down, he began to tell them about what their fate held.

"I'm going to tell you two something that will be very stressful."

They both looked at him questioningly.

"You are both demon containers, that much I know. I will not hold it against you. Infact, I see both of you as normal people with an abhorantly large stamina capacity. However, there is a group of people who see both of you as a trophy, something that they must collect."

Naruto bristled with anger.

"Akatsuki."

Jiraiya turned to Naruto.

"Yes, Akatsuki. How much do you know about them?"

"I only know what my father left me, which said that they would hunt me and the other demon containers to the ends of the earth, until they either caught all of us, or they were killed. Do you know why they want to capture us, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya let the insult slide, as this wasn't the time to argue about small things.

"I don't know for sure, but I can take a well educated guess. Both the Kyubi and Nibi have been heralded throught the ages as the king and queen of the demons, held in awe for their pure destructiveness. I'd say that Akatsuki want to capture you to harness the two tail's and nine tail's powers. I'm not absolutely positive on that, but I'm pretty damn close to it."

Naruto and Yukiko looked at the ground, contemplating the life of hardship they had ahead. Jiraiya tried to lighten up the mood.

"Well, it's unlikely that Akatsuki will move for a while, so you're safe for now."

"Ero-Sennin?"

"What is it, Naruto?"

"What do these 'Akatsuki' guys look like?"

"You'll know them when you see them. They're always covered by a full length black cloak with red clouds on it. They can also be identified by the staw hats with white stips of paper attached to the rim. The last way to identify them is by their forehead protectors."

"What symbol do they wear on their forehead protectors, Jiraiya-Sensei?"

"Their forehead protectors are the ones from their original village, however, they've put a huge gash through the symbol of their former village. That's the three ways visually to identify them."

"There's other ways?"

"The other way to identify them is their monsterous power. Even one of them could kill the Sandaime with ease."

Yukiko and Naruto's eyes widdened almost to the size of saucers.

"What's worse is they always travel in pairs. Two above Kage level ninjas is enough to wipe out entire villages."

Naruto leaned over and put an arm around Yukiko to comfort her. Yukiko leaned against Naruto. Naruto looked over to Jiraiya with determination.

"Then we need you to train us. We need to be able to protect ourselves and each other."

Jiraiya smiled and got up.

"Yukiko, can you go and meditate while I start Naruto on the next stage of the Rasengan?"

"Hai."

Yukiko turned and walked over to the stream, sitting down and began to meditate. Jiraiya turned back to Naruto and began explaining the second stage.

"Naruto, the first stage of the Rasengan training is child's play compaired to this. If you master this in one day, I'll renounce my title as a Sanin."

Naruto looked more determined than ever. Jiraiya took out a rubber ball and threw it to Naruto.

"Eh? A rubber ball? What do I have to do this time?"

"Watch closely."

Jiraiya took out a rubber ball and focused for a moment. The ball ripped to shreads in his hand, swirls of chakra coming out from the ball. Naruto looked on in wonder.

"Cool!"

"The first step required you to spin. The second step requires you to add power. Since there is no water in the ball, it's hard to power it up or control it. Practice like this for a bit."

Jiraiya turned and walked over to Yukiko and began talking with her. Naruto turned back and began to use the method he had to pop the water balloon. The rubber ball morphed slightly, before Naruto realised that even if he added another few chakra rotations, this ball was no where near popping. Naruto tried for the rest of the day, trying unsucessfully to even put a hole in the ball. Naruto collapsed, totally exhausted. Jiraiya looked up and see that his prediction of Naruto not being able to pop the ball in one day turned out to be true. He stood up and began walking over to Naruto.

"Seems like I get to keep my title of Sanin, eh Naruto?"

Naruto just turned his head away and pouted. Jiraiya began to walk off.

"Ok guys, training's over for today. Go home and get some rest. Meet here at the same time tomorrow."

Jiraiya walked off, leaving Yukiko to help Naruto get to his feet and walk home.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Two weeks later:**

Naruto had been trying unsuccessfully to pop the ball. On the second day, he had looked at his father's scroll, however it had provided only one obscure hint.

_'The trick to the second step of this training is to focus all the chakra in your hand into one point. From there, it's up to the individual person as to how they choose to apply that knowledge. Some ways work well for some, while not so much for others. There really is no hint for this step that can be used by everyone.'_

Naruto was starting to get pissed off. He'd been at this damn jutsu for over two weeks, and he was still on the second stage! He laid down trying to think of any of his previous lessons any of his teachers had given him to try and use it as a solution. He closed his eyes and concerntraited. After a few minutes he felt something soft and cool touch his forehead. It wasn't a person, or anything that was dangerous, so he opened his eyes to see a leaf had landed on his forehead. Naruto suddenly had an idea.

_'That's it! I remember an exercise that Iruka-Sensei had given me, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji when he had us on detention! He was teaching us to concerntraite by putting a leaf on our foreheads! We blew them off and jumped out the window, thinking nothing of it. How could I have not realised how powerful that exercise was? I'm sorry, Iruka-Sensei, I realise what you were trying to teach me now...'_

Naruto got up, and picked up the rubber ball in his hand again. He focused on an imaginary point in the center of his palm and focused all his chakra to that point before releasing it into the ball. The ball started morphing.

_'More! I need to focus more!'_

The ball was now morphing hideously.

_Just a little more and...'_

Suddenly the ball exploded, sending Naruto flying back. Yukiko looked up at this explosion. Jiraiya was quicker to react, and he vanished and reappearedbehind Naruto and stopped him from going any further. Naruto looked up and smiled.

"Second stage complete. Let's start the third stage."

Jiraiya noticed it was late in the afternoon. He shook his head.

"It's getting late, plus you're exauhsted. Rest up tonight and we'll start the third stage tomorrow."

Naruto groaned in dissapointment. Jiraiya just laughed.

"Don't worry. I garuntee you'll master this last stage in two weeks or less."

Naruto smiled before getting up and started limping home, helped along by Yukiko.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**9 am the Next Day:**

Naruto and Yukiko arrived expecting to find Jiraiya 'researching', but found that he was actually meditating. Jiraiya opened his eyes when he heard the two aproach.

"Morning you two."

"Good morning, Jiraiya-Sensei."

"Morning, Ero-Senin."

Jiraiya sighed.

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?"

Naruto smiled.

"Nope."

Jiraiya slumped. He got up and motioned Yukiko to go over to the stream and meditate for a bit. Yukiko did as she was told. Jiraiya turned back to Naruto.

"Ok for the third step, you have to use the spin from the first step and the power from the second step."

Jiraiya pulled out a balloon and blew it up, throwing it to Naruto before making one for himself.

"Ok, basically, this is what the third step should look like when completed."

Jiraiya just heled the ball infront of him. Naruto was skeptical, but he soon caught on.

"So the thrid step... Is to get the power from the second step... Apply the spin from the first step and maintain it inside the balloon?"

"You're a smart one Naruto. Yes, that's right. Watch my left hand closely."

Jiraiya held out his other hand, and a perfect sphere of chakra formed in his hand. It looked like the chakra was spinning out from the centre to the outside like a typhoon. Naruto whistled.

"Sweet!"

Suddenly, Naruto had a question.

"Neh, Ero-Sennin, if the second step was to add power, what happened if I just used the second step on an opponent?"

Jiraiya was actually quite pleased Naruto had asked this.

"This is what would happen."

Jiraiya put the balloon down and formed a very crude looking version of the Rasengan in his right hand. He then slammed it into the tree next to him. The tree had a spiral cut in it, with the centre of it where the level two Rasengan had been.

"Now, this is what happens when you use a level three Rasengan."

Jiraiya used his left hand, which still had the Rasengan formed in it. When he hit the tree with it, the trunk of the tree in the way of the Rasengan just disintergrated, taking a chunk out of the tree. Naruto whistled Jiraiya turned back to his student.

"I think you can see why it's so important to maintain that raw power in its form. Well, I'll leave you to it. Good luck, Naruto."

Jiraiya began to walk off and begin his training with Yukiko. Naruto focused on the balloon.

_'This step seems kind of strange... It has the exact opposite objective of the first two steps, yet I have to incoperate the lesson of both of the previous steps into this one and NOT pop the balloon! This... This is on an entirely different scale than the last two steps! If step two took two weeks to learn, how the hell will it take LESS time to complete this step!'_

Naruto didn't wait a day before he looked at the scroll, he immediately took it out of his back pocket and began reading.

_'There is one trick to mastering the third and final step of the Rasengan, and that is focus. You must be able to focus the Rasengan into a small sphere that has a barrier of air between it and the inside edge of the balloon. The second you let the Rasengan touch the balloon's edge, the balloon will pop, meaning you have to start again.'_

Naruto was glad he knew how to keep the balloon from popping, now he just had to apply the knowledge. Naruto began to form the power he had from the second step and tried to bring it under control by spinning it in every way he could. Unfortunately, he quickly lost control of the power and the balloon popped, releasing chakra everywhere.Naruto stummbled back, cursed and got another balloon.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The day of the Chunin Main Matches:**

Jiraiya had personally overseen Yukiko's and Naruto's training for the last month. He was confident that they would have no problems.

"Well you two, it's been a pleasure training you for the past month. You two are among the best students I've ever had. I guess you're both off to the main matches now?"

"Yeah! We're going to kick ass, right Yukiko-Chan?"

"Yup."

Jiraiya laughed.

"I'll tell you what. It's been over 10 years since I last saw my sensei, so I think I'll come with you and watch you two in the matches. Sound good with you?"

"Yeah, that'd rock Ero-Sennin! Come and watch me beat up that Gaara guy!"

"Gaara?"

"Yeah! He's the demon container for the Shukaku, the one tailed demon Tanuki."

Jiraiya took interest in this.

"Well, now I'm definitely coming. Come on guys, if we go now, we can be there by the first match."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**20 Minutes later, At the Chunin Stadium:**

The referee was watching the last few seconds tick down until Naruto was disqualified.

_'5_

_4_

_3  
_

_2_

_1_

_Ze-'_

Just at that moment, a dark shadow overtook the stadium. Everyone saw three dark shapes launch over the stadium wall and land in the center of the stadium. There was an orange and black striped frog, a four tailed golden kitsune, and a two tailed black cat. On each of the creatures heads was a person. On the head of the frog was a long white haired old man. On the head of the kitsune was a chibi version of the Yondaime Hokage, and on the head of the cat was a blue haired, violet eyed girl. The white haired old man looked up at the two Kages.

"Yo! Sorry we're late, Sarutobi-Sensei."

"Jiraiya?"

"The one and only. Good to see you, sensei. I was personally training these two students for this exam and decided to tag along to see how they did."

"I see. You arrived just in time. Naruto was less than a second away from being disqualified for being late."

Jiraiya sighed in relief. He turned to his two students.

"I'm going up to the Kage box. Good luck, you two."

Jiraiya dispelled the frog and jumped up next to his sensei. Naruto and Yukiko dispelled their summons and gave each other a quick good luck kiss and hug before Yukiko ran up to the waiting room. Naruto turned back to Neji.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I had to finish off some important business. Shall we?"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** OMG, CLIFFHANGER NO JUTSU! Sorry guys, but I'm going to immediately start work on the next chapter, which I hope to get all of the Chunin final matches into to make it up to you for cutting this chapter off at such a critical point in time. Well, until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	14. The Main Matches

**A/N:** Hello again everyone! Sorry to pull a cliffhanger no jutsu on you last time, but I couldn't fit the month training and the entire Chunin main matches in.

This chapter's things you would never hear them say: '**SASUKE:** to kakashi alright. hand over the book! grabs it from him and walks away as he begins to read it'

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 13:

The Main Matches:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Shall we?"

Neji just smirked.

"It looks like you have something you want to say."

Naruto smiled and activated his 'Seal Eye'. Naruto held out a fist.

"I will win!"

Neji smiled faintly and lowered into his juken fighting stance, activating his own Bloodline Limit.

_'His eyes tell me he's totally confident in himself.'_

"This is what makes this fight worth while. I will enjoy seeing your discouraged eyes once you learn that you cannot defeat me."

The referee brought down his hand to signal the start of the match.

"Now, the first match. Begin!"

Naruto noticed the seal on Neji's forhead and burst out laughing.

"What do you find so amusing?"

"This."

Naruto formed a quick hand seal and gave a small burst of chakra before shutting it off. Neji stiffened and clutched his head, trying to stay upright.

"That is how easily I could end this match Neji. I could kill you with a small bit of chakra and a single hand seal. However, I'm a sporting guy, so I'll beat you the old fashioned way."

"How... How can you, a person not of the Hyuga main house... activate my seal?"

Naruto just smirked.

"Let's just say he who invents it, knows how to prevent it."

Neji opened his eyes wide in amazement.

"What are you claiming?"

"The Hyugas didn't invent that seal, we Uzumakis did. We gave it to your clan because you claimed it would be used on traitors to stop the secret of the Byakugan from falling into enemy hands. Seems like the main house had other ideas, eh?"

Neji just stared.

"I'll tell you what, Neji. Beat me, and I'll remove that seal from your forehead. I want to see why you've been called the Hyuga genius. If you do manage to beat me, I swear on my father's name that I will remove your seal."

Neji was suddenly very interested.

"And if I lose?"

Naruto thought for a moment.

"Hmmm... If you lose, you give up on this fate crap. Deal?"

Neji smiled.

"Sounds good to me."

"Very well."

Naruto walked up to Neji and shook his hand before leeping back. Neji waited, obviously wanting Naruto to make the first move. Naruto smiled and launched three kunai at Neji, who deflected one away, caught the second, and used it to capture the third in the ring at the base of the handle. Naruto then ran in. Neji stood stock still until Naruto's hand was about three meters from his face. Neji then used his right hand to deflect the punch away from his face and push Naruto past him. Naruto jumped and span around in the air, landing in a crouching position. Naruto charged back at Neji, letting forth a flurry of punches. Neji calmly blocked every one of them. Neji finally had enough of this and deflected one of Naruto's hands, giving him an opening to land an attack. Neji aimed for one of Naruto's tenketsu in his shoulder. Naruto saw this and made a last second movement of his shoulder, making Neji miss. Neji smiled.

"Are you taking my abilities seriously, Naruto?"

"Probably not. I had to get an idea of what the Hyuga's juken could actually do. I'll hand it to you, it's a frightening style of fighting. I'm starting to think this will be a sufficient warm up for my fights with Lee and Gaara."

"Hmpf. If you really think I'm a push over, then you will regret it."

"That is true, however, I never suggested that I would understimate your abilites. I was stating that yours still pails in compairson to theirs."

Neji stopped smiling.

"Well then, if you're going to take me seriously now, then show me you mean it."

"Very well."

Naruto formed a familiar hand seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Over thirty real copies formed infront of Naruto. People in the stands were shocked. This kid... A Genin, knew a Jounin level technique and had enough stamina to produce thirty of them as if it was just warm up? They were now very interested in this match. Neji was amused.

_'Kage Bunshin? I see. If the chakra is divided up evenly amongst them, not even my Byakugan can figure out which one is the real one.'_

"However, there is only one real one."

The Naruto clones 'hmph'ed and smiled.

"Don't act so tough."

"Come if you wish."

The wall of Naruto clones charged, letting out a battlecry. Neji looked at the first one and prepared to deflect it. Neji put a hand into the clone's chest, holding his outstretched hand to use it as a lever to pick him up and throw him over his shoulder using the clone's own momentum.Neji turned back to the clones in time to see one try a punch to the face. Neji took this clone and began beating the crap out of it. Other clones tried to jump in and help their comrade, only to recive an attack from Neji before he turned to another and repeated the process. The clones were panting.

"You're one agile bastard."

Neji smiled before setting his sights on a particular one that had caught his attention.

"The more the 29 or so other clones attacked, the more one stood out."

Neji charged through the ranks of clones, looking to finish this quickly and be released from his seal. Neji arrived at one particular one and gave a yell before striking a tenketsu next to his heart.

The clones started poofing out of existance until just one was left. The one Neji had struck.

"The one that stood out was the one who feared that his tenketsu would be struck. You are the real Naruto."

Neji removed his arm and stepped back. Naruto just burst out laughing.

"I fail to see what's so funny."

"The fact that your Byakugan can't even tell that I'm a fake."

The 'real' Naruto poofed out of existance. Forcing Neji to focus his almost 360 degree vision to scour the area for signs of the real Naruto. Neji finally spotted two figures coming at him from behind. Neji turned around to see the real Naruto and a clone sailing through the air.

"Come on Neji! Let's see what you've got!"

Neji leaned back, bracing for the punch Naruto was aiming at his face. Naruto's punch connected with Neji's face, or so he thought. In between Neji's face and Naruto's fist was a wall of blue chakra. Neji extended the chakra sheild to surround him, before spinning around like a top. Naruto and his clone were thrown back. The clone poofed out of existance, and the Naruto slowly got to his feet. Naruto smiled.

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

"This is it."

Naruto raised a brow questioningly.

"You are within range of my divination."

Neji put his hands side by side, palms facing out in front of him.

"Juken move: Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!"

Neji bent his knees and put one arm up in the air while the other was out in front of him. Neji charged in. Naruto leant back trying pittifully to dodge the move. Neji stepped up to Naruto and spun around gracefully, before slamming his middle and index finger of each hand into Naruto's body, beginning his deadly combo.

"Two Strikes!"

"Four Strikes!"

"Eight Strikes!"

"Sixteen Strikes!"

"Thirty Two Strikes!"

"Sixty Four Strikes!"

All through this combo, Naruto had been grunting in pain. When Neji finished pummeling Naruto, he sent Naruto flying back with a juken powered fist. Naruto collapsed on the floor. Neji smiled, glad to be free of his clan's fate of hatred.

"Examiner, it's over."

"Is it? I'm still well and trully in this fight, Neji."

Naruto slowly raised himself up. Neji marvelled at how quickly Naruto had gotten up after his devistating attack.

"Impossible!"

"No, it's very possible. I'll tell you now, that move was terrifing. I'm sure it would take care of any normal human. However, I'm far from a normall human."

Naruto bent down on all fours, forming a very strang set of hand seals. Neji wanted to know what seals they were.

"What are those seals?"

"If you must know, these are demoinc hand seals known only to the Kitsunes. Observe why I am not considered a normal human! Demon Mimicry Technique, Full Body!"

Naruto's hair began to form a swaying mass of unruly blonde hair, his whisker marks elongated, widened and darkened. His fingernails and toenails lengthened into claws and his cainines grew. When he opened his eyes, Neji saw that the blue pupils and triangles were now crimson red. His pupil had also turned into an ellipse, spanning from the top to the bottom of his iris. When the people in the stands heard his voice, they froze in fear.

"**Come on Neji, don't look so scared. What happened to your confidence from just a moment ago? Don't tell me you're having second thoughts? Let's go!"**

With that, Narutodissapeared from sight. Neji then saw Naruto out of the corner of his peripheral vision, he was flying though the air with several shuriken in his hand. He launched them at Neji, who used his signature defensive move.

"Kaiten!"

Neji picked the shuriken out of the air and added three of his own. Naruto touched the wall and lept off it, heading straight for Neji. Neji hurled the six shuriken at Naruto, who didn't make a move to block it. He simply charged right at the shuriken. They hit naruto's arua like it was made of solid titanium Neji just looked on in shock.

_'He deflected them with his chakra? Who is Naruto really?'_

Naruto was just about to reach Neji when heagain dissapeared. Neji once again converntraited on looking in his full field of vision for any sign of the blonde. Neji jumped to the right, dodging Naruto's punch. They both took out a kunai and launched it at each other. They then lept up into the air, grabbing their kunais and traded a mid air blow before they both landed. Naruto was the first to talk.

"**You're... Confident about close combat, right?"**

Neji opened his eyes in amazement. Naruto was charging straight for him on all fours. Neji knew this was bad.

_'I have to start the Kaiten!'_

"**If you believe your clan's lies about fate, then don't do anything! After I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuga for you!"**

Naruto lept up and struck at Neji with his kunai. Neji had already started the Kaiten and heled out his kunai to counter Naruto's The auras of blue and red chakra reached each other and reacted violently. A huge explosion errupted from the center of the arena. Everyone gasped at the display of sheer power. When the smoke finally cleared, there was Naruto, standing over one Hyuga Neji.

"I'm sorry Neji, but I promised people I would fight them in the main matches, and I'm not about to break those promises. You did well to make me use my first demon form."

Neji couldn't believe he'd just lost his only chance to have his seal removed. He looked up at the sky and let a tear roll down his cheek. Naruto's voice intteruped his thoughts.

"Oi, Neji. Remove your forhead protector."

Neji wondered what Naruto was up to, but he did it. Naruto lent over Neji and formed a long complex chain of seals before slamming his fist into Neji's forehead.

"Chaged Bird Unseal!"

Neji screamed in pain holding his forehead as the pain racked through his body. After a moment, the pain subsided.

"What... did you just do?"

"Removed your seal."

Neji looked up at Naruto in shock.

"But... I lost!"

"I don't care. You still made me get serious, and that alone makes me think you deserve better than being forced into subservience by the main house. You're free to live your life as you please. Good job, Neji."

The referee smiled. He held up his hand.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!"

The croud remained silent. Finally, Yukiko started clapping. Sasuke and Sakura stared soon after. Within a few seconds, the whole croud was clapping and cheering for Naruto. Naruto smiled and held up his fingers in a peace sign. Naruto then returned to the waiting room and Yukiko jumped onto him giving him a bear hug and a passionate kiss. Naruto smiled and looked at the other contestants who were looking at him in amazement. Naruto smiled and looked at Lee.

"I hope to see you next round Lee. Please don't dissapoint me."

Lee smiled.

"I won't Naruto-Kun. And I think what you just did for Neji was the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for him in his life. I think you just won yourself another fan."

Naruto smiled.

"I just hope he learns to give up that fate crap and appologise to Hinata for the prelims. He's got a good heart deep down, he's just had it suppressed by his family from the moment he was born, so he never got to show it."

Lee gave his nice guy pose.

"Your spirit of fire burns strong, Naruto-Kun!"

Naruto gave Lee an amused look. The referee chose that moment to announce the next match.

"The next match is between Kankuro and Rock Lee. Fighters, please step up."

Kankuro knew this was bad. He didn't want to show off his abilities before the invasion.

"Examiner! I forfeit!"

People started booing and throwing things into the ring. Kankuro turned to Lee.

"I may be a puppet user, but a close combat fighter is the worst match up I could possibly ask for. I am almost garanteed to lose if I fight, so I'm saving myself the pain."

Lee looked disheartedned. Naruto smiled brightly.

"Lee look at it this way. You get to fight me with your full strength!"

Lee suddenly brightened up.

"You are right Naruto-Kun. I will fight you with the power of youth at it's fullest!"

Everyone began to step away wearily from Lee as fires lit up in his eyes. Naruto just laughed.

"Good to hear, Lee."

The referee then announced the next match.

"The third fight is between Yakushi Kabuto and Sabaku no Gaara. Fighters, please step up."

Gaara warped down to the ring, while Kabuto jumped over the ledge. They stood opposite each other, waiting for the word to begin. The referee brought his hand down and jumped back.

"Please begin."

Kabuto stared up a chakra scalpel, and charged at Gaara. Gaara stood stock still. As Kabuto came close, a wall of sand rose up. Kabuto stuck the wall of sand, slicing cleanly through it and aiming for Gaara's heart. Gaara jumped back, avoiding the chakra scalpel. Kabuto sighed, before biting his thumb, forming a set of hand seals before slamming his hand into the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Out of the smoke came a large snake.

"Fogive me, Gaara, but I'm going to end this quickly."

Gaara smiled and shot a wave of sand at the snake. The snake dodged and brought it's head down to try and crush Gaara. The snake's head hit Gaara, sending smoke billowing throught the whole arena. When the smoke cleared, everyone saw Gaara hand turned his right arm into some monsterously disformed appendage that had very visable veins running down it. The hand was held up, skewering the snake's throat. The snake poofed out of existance, leaving a very wary Kabuto and a psychotic Gaara left in the ring.

"So that's the arm of the Shukaku? Interesting..."

Kabuto charged up a chakra scalpel again and charged at Gaara. He had only taken two steps when Gaara extended his arm and hit Kabuto in the chest, forcing him back into the stadium wall. Kabuto goraned and passed out, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. Yukiko screamed.

"NIISAN!"

Gaara wasn't finished yet, and he prepared for another attack. The referee stepped in front of Gaara.

"Gaara! This fight is over! If you continue, you will be disqualified!"

This seemed to stop Gaara. He returned his arm to normal and warped back up to the waiting stand with the others. Yukiko jumped over the railing and sprinted to Kabuto. Yukiko started healing him. Kabuto smiled at his younger sister weakly.

"He's very strong. Naruto-Kun's in big trouble."

"Naruto-Kun will be fine, he can completely destroy Gaara. Personally I hope he kills him."

"Yukiko-Chan, he may be evil, but even evil people deserve mercy sometimes."

Yukiko hated to admit it, but Kabuto was right. Yukiko smiled.

"You're right, Niisan. Anyway, you're healed now. Take it easy, ok?"

"Thanks, Yukiko-Chan."

Kabuto went to sleep. Yukiko stood up and let the medics carry Kabuto to the infirmary. She returned to the waiting room. The referee announced the next match.

"Fourth match: Uchiha Sasuke Vs Nara Shikamaru. Fighters step up."

Naruto looked around. He just realised that he hadn't seen Sasuke.

"Oh man, don't tell me he's run off..."

The referee looked at the crouds, who were waiting patiently. He sighed. He began to announce that Sasuke was late for his match, and was therefore forced to forfeit, when the leaves on the ground swirled, and formed a pillar in the center of the stadium. Once the leaves cleared, everyone saw Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi back to back with the Uchiha prodigy, Uchiha Sasuke. Kakashi turned to the referee.

"Yo. We're not too late, are we?"

The referee just smirked.

"No, he's just in time."

Kakashi smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"I see! I'm glad."

The examiner smiled again.

"It seems Team Seven know how to make flashy enterances. Your other students came on the heads of a two tailed black cat and a four tailed golden kitsune lead by none other than Jiraiya-Sama himself, who was on top of a black and orange frog. Naruto was less than a second from being disqualified for being late. Jiraiya-Sama's up there next to Hokage-Sama right now."

Kakashi smiled.

"Well, they are my team after all."

Sasuke looked up at the participants in the waiting booth. He saw Naruto and waved.

"You won your first match."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Of course! I expect you to do the same, Sasuke!"

Sasuke smiled. Kakashi turned to his student before waving andvanishing from the feild, reappearingupat the contestants box to say hi to his other students. Sasuke turned to his opponent and smiled. Shikamaru sighed. The examiner brought his hand down and jumped back.

"The fourth match, begin!"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, and dissapeared in a blur of movement. Shikamaru looked around wildly for the Uchiha. He spotted him running down the wall of the stadium charging directly for Shikamaru with blinding speed. Shikamaru activated his clan's technique.

"Kagamane no Jutsu!"

Sasuke looked like he was about to be caught, but hereappeared and reappeared behind Shikamaru. However, Shikamaru had been predicting this and habd already sent a second shadow out behind him. Sasuke dodged again and appeared at Shikamaru's side, punching him into the stadium wall. Sasuke stood up breathing heavily. Shikamaru shakily got to his feet and disspeared with a burst of speed. Sasuke began looking around casually to see where he had gone. After a while, he gave up and ran up one of the stadium walls and formed three hand seals, making Kakashi's signature move.

"Chidori!"

Naruto whistled. That was one powerful technique. Sasuke charged down the wall, darging the Chidori down the wall. He could see Shikamaru's jacket sleeve behind a tree. He charged for the tree, slamming his hand into the it's trunk and out the other side where Shikamaru's head should have been. However he found that the jacket had been left there as a decoy. It was empty.

_'Shit!'_

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Shikamaru had done this from such close range that Sasuke didn't have a chance to dodge. Sasuke was caught in the Kagaemane no Jutsu. Naruto looked dissapointed. This was all Sasuke was capeable of?

Shikamaru raised his right hand, making Sasuke do it as well. Sasuke was sweating. Shikamaru looked Sasuke in the eye.

"I... Give up."

The croud was dumbfounded. He had him in a position to win, why the hell had he given up! People started booing. Shikamaru then explained why he gave up.

"Sasuke, although it looks like I'm winning now, my chakra will run out in about thirty seconds. I've thought through 34 different possible outcomes to this match, all of them ended up with me losing. I went with senario number 25, which was the closest thing I could get to a win."

Sure enough, the Kagemane no Jutsu ran out just then. Sasuke slumped slightly as he regained control of his own body. The referee pointed to Sasuke.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke."

No one cheered, it was an unexpected way of winning. Sasuke walked back up to the stands. Naruto patted him on the back.

"Don't worry Sasuke. Shikamaru may be lazy, but when he puts his mind to it, he's damn near impossible to beat."

Sasuke didn't look any happier.

"At least you get to go on to the next match."

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Hmm?"

"My next opponent is Yukiko."

Naruto stopped being so happy. His best friend and his girlfriend fighting? He didn't like that one bit. Naruto decided to let it drop. The referee announced the next match.

"The fighters for the next battle are Yakushi Yukiko and Temari. Fighters please step up."

Yukiko faced Temari and smiled. The referee brought his hand down and jumped back.

"The fifth fight, begin!"

Temari let forth a gust of wind from her fan. Yukiko didn't dodge, she just focused chakra to her hair, amking it grow and harden, forming a protective barrier around her.

"Ninpou, Hari Jizou."

Temari looked dumbfounded. What kind of a technique was that? She snapped herself back to the task at hand. She jumped back and began forming hand seals. Yukiko was also forming hand seals. Yukiko was the first to announce her technique.

"Mokudon: Jyukai Koudan!"

The Hokage looked on in shock.

"That's Shodaime's-"

Jraiya laughed.

"She's the container for Nibi, the two tailed queen of the cats. Nibi's specialties are shamanism and necromancy. It's only natural Yukiko would posses some wood type techniques."

The Hokage settled back down and looked on as the whole arena came alive with vines, which were all working their way towards Temari. Temari tried to use her fan to blow gusts of wind at the approaching roots, but they just kept coming. Eventually, Temari was foced to start beating them with her fan. This was quickly stopped however as her fan arm was entangled with roots. Her other limbs were quickly entangled as well. Yukiko smiled.

"It's over. If this was a real battle, I'd proabably use some of my death type techniques to drain you of your chakra. However that will not be necessary. There is nothing you can do."

The examiner smiled.

"Winner, Yakushi Yukiko."

Everyone cheered. Yukiko released the forest genisis technique and let Temari drop to the ground. Yukiko walked back up to the contestants box, closely followed behind by Temari. Naruto gave Yukiko a kiss and smiled at her. The examiner announced the next match.

"Now it's time for the first battle of the second round. The fighters are Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee. Fighters, please step up."

Lee and Naruto jumped down and stood opposite each other. Lee smiled.

"I've been waiting for this fight for a long time, Naruto-Kun."

"As have I, Lee. Before we start though, I know we are both capeable of opening five gates each. However, for the saftey of the people in the crowd, I suggest we place limiters on this match."

"Limiters?"

"Let's say we reduce the number of gates we are allowed to open to three. That way, we can still put on a hell of a show, and the audience stays alive."

"That sounds good to me Naruto-Kun. What happens if one of us opens the fourth gate?"

"They have to forfeit the match."

"I agree with your terms."

Lee walked forward and shook Naruto's hand before leaping back and getting into his Iron Fist style stance. Naruto stood stock still, waiting for the word to begin.

"Fighter's begin!"

The referee jumped back. Naruto charged at Lee, executing his father's trademark technique.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

Lee looked up in suprise. He just managed to dodge it. He lept back and charged at Naruto. Naruto body flickered and appeared behind Lee, giving him a kick to the small of the back. Lee stumbled, but executed a flip to land on his feet. Lee waitied to see what Naruto would do. When he did nothing, Lee raised an eyebrow questioningly. Naruto wanted to take this to the next stage.

"Lee, take off your weights."

Lee nodded, and bent down, removing his leg weights. He dropped them to the ground. They created small holes in the ground. Everyone in the audience looked scared. That kid had moved that fast with weights like THOSE on? How fast would he be now?

"You're turn, Lee."

"Very well."

Lee charged at Naruto, who didn't get time to block. Lee gave a swift kick to the chin, launching Naruto up into the air. Lee appeared behind him.

"Prepare yourself, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto knew this was going to hurt, so he activated his first demonic form so it could lessen the severity of the injury and begin healing the injuries immediately. Lee wrapped the medical tape around Naruto and began spinning at high speed towards the ground.

"Omote Renge!"

they slammed into the ground, causing a fiarly large crater to form. Lee hopped to the side of the crater smiling. Naruto got up slowly and shook his head.

"**Now I see why I decided to copy that move. Hot damn that was painful."**

Lee smiled.

"I knew it would take more than that to beat you, Naruto-Kun."

"**I'm glad someone has faith in me. Are you ready, Lee?"**

"I guess."

"**Then here we go. The first Demonic Gate: The Armour Gate: KAI!"**

Blood red goo like chakra began to leak out of Naruto's stomach. Naruto screamed as the pain of the chakra's initial burn reduced to a small tingling.

"**I'll never get used to that pain. Anyway, please prepare yourself."**

Naruto formed four Kage Bunshins, who ran to the corners of the stadium. The real Naruto ran at Lee, who stood up, knowing what was coming next. Lee sighed and got ready to feel extreme pain.

"When ever you are ready, Naruto-Kun."

"**Here we go!"**

Naruto ran out of his of his ring of dust and punched Lee into the wall, and charged in, slamming into the wall and dragging Lee around the entire staduim, before he got back to his starting point. He then lept into the air, passing Lee to the four Kage Bunshins who had jumped off the walls. The real Naruto jumped off the back of one of them and lept into the air as the Kage Bunshins began their massive punch-kick combo, before kicking Lee upwards to where the real Naruto was waiting. Naruto could sense incredible power coming from Lee and kew he was already activating the second gate just to survive the fall. Naruto grabbed Lee's middrift and locked his legs around Lee's neck.

"**Omote Oni Renge Rendan!"**

Naruto slammed Lee into the ground with such force that the entire stadium shook. Iruka looked outside when he felt the tremor. He returned after a moment to teaching his class. The smoke cloud from the impact rushed up into the stands, covering the audience in dust. Normally they would have been very angry, but this fight was scaring them so much that they just returned to watching the fight. As the dust settled, they saw both fighters standing panting heavily. Naruto smiled at Lee.

"**Shall we get serious now?"**

People gasped. Get serious NOW! What the hell was all that before then? Lee also smiled.

"Very well, Naruto-Kun. The third Celesteal Gate: The Life Gate... Kai!"

Lee's body was giving off an incredible aura. Naruto smiled and began releasing his second and third gates.

"**The second Demonic Gate: The Regeneration Gate... Kai!"**

Naruto's wounds began healing and his chakra armour grew a second tail. The ground underneath the two was beginning to crack.

"**The third Demonic Gate: The Intention Gate... Kai!"**

Naruto's power level doubled. His chakra armour grew a third tail. Naruto let out a massive roar that caused the audience to cover their ears. The two fighters looked at each other and smiled. They charged forwards at incredible speeds, aiming to kick each other, both of their shins connecting. They jumped back and dissapeared. They appeared in the air, punching and kicking at each other furiously. They dissapeared and reappeared on the ground, both of them trying to land a hit on the other, neither of them succeeding. The battle went on for another three or so minutes, the audience looking at the two ninja in shock at the display of raw power. No wonder they decided to hold back. If they had gone full out, this staduim and half of Konoha would have been anihalated. Eventually Naruto and Lee returned to the ground panting. Lee fought to keep going. Naruto was only slightly better off. Lee gave Naruto a warm smile before he wispered just loud enough for Naruto and the Examiner to hear.

"Good match Naruto-Kun..."

With that said, Lee fell forward on his face. He was unconcious. The examiner went to check on Lee and found him unable to continue.

"Lee had fainted from exertion. Winner: Uzumaki Naruto."

Everyone cheered. Naruto released his form and fell flat on his face too. He slowly got up and leaned against the wall. Naruto looked to the examiner.

"Can we please have a rest? I won't be able to compete with Gaara after that if I go into the next match straight away..."

The examiner considered this. He'poof'ed up to the Hokage.

"Hokage-Sama. Naruto has requested a break to be able to recover. What is your decision?"

The Hokage looked at the Kazekage.

"Would you mind? I'm sure after such a display of power it wouldn't be a bad idea."

"I'm not opposed to it. Does four hours sound sufficient?"

"That will do. I will announce it."

The Hokage got up and walked to the edge of the Kage box.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Our contestants have requested a break to replenish their energy. Kazekage and I have decided that a four hour break will be sufficient. Please feel free to take a walk around the village and return in four hours."

The audience didn't complain. After a display of power like that, they'd want a break too. They got up and filed out the doors of the stadium. All talk was about the male blonde haired ninja.

"Wow, did you see Naruto's fight with Lee? That was amazing!"

"Yeah! And they said they were holding back! That was so sweet!"

"I can't wait till the match between Naruto and that Gaara guy!"

"Yeah!"

Yukiko had dropped down to pick up Naruto and take him to the infirmary. She had laid him on a spare bed and talked with him for about half an hour, before giving him a suppliment pill and letting him go to sleep. Three and a half hours later, Yukiko came in and woke Naruto up.

"Naruto-Kun, it's time for your match with Gaara."

Naruto nodded and swung himself over the edge of the bed and hopped down. He hadn't totally recovered, only about 60 percent of his power had returned.

_'Oh well, it should be enough to compete with Gaara.'_

Naruto walked out into the ring to see everyone had returned to their seats. When Naruto came out, they cheered. Naruto smiled and waved at them before taking his positon opposite Gaara. The examiner brought down his hand and jumped back.

"Please begin."

"I've been waiting for this moment, Uzumaki Naruto. You're the only one who can match my power. By defeating you, I can prove my existance."

Naruto shook his head.

"Gaara, have you ever wondered what it would have been like if you had made friends during your childhood? One's that accepted who you were as a person, and not as the Shukaku?"

"What's your point, Uzumaki Naruto?"

"The reason that I'm so powerful is because I have people who are precious to me. I'm willing to sacrifice my life to protect them. That's why I'm different from you. I had people who acknowledged the fact that I'm a living human being that had a heart that felt all the human emotions. Love, hate, fear, joy and all the rest of them. My precious people realised that, and they acknowledged the fact that I was Uzumaki Naruto, and not the Kyubi not Kitsune. Gaara, if you want to become trully strong, you must learn to give people a chance to know you. I know you're a great guy, but I can see it in you're eyes. All your friends betrayed you, didn't they? Gaara, killing people to prove you exist is making a bad name for the rest of the demon containers like Yukiko-Chan and myself. Let people into your life and save you from that dark hell that I went through too."

Gaara understood what this meant, however his mind refused to believe that was the reason Naruto was strong.

"You're wrong, Uzumaki Naruto. It's the pain of being alone and knowing your father could send an assassin to try and take your life at any time that makes you strong!"

"If you truly believe that, then show me if what you said is true. Beat me and I'll recoginse you as truly strong."

"Then prepare to die, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Gaara's sand began to form a sphere around himself. Naruto rushed in and was about to puch the sphere when he felt a wave of killer intent rush over him and he pulled back in time to see the sand on the surface of the sphere shoot out and form a row of spikes where Naruto had just been. Naruto stood back and waited. Nothing seemed to happen, so Naruto decided to use another trademark technique of his fathers.

"Rasengan!"

The blue ball of swirling chakra formed in his hand. Naruto charged in and dodged the spikes before driving the Rasengan into the sand sphere. The Rasengan started eating away at the sand before it punctured through the wall. Naruto felt his hand touch something soft. His hand was suddenly covered with something warm and wet. Naruto realised that he was the first person to draw Gaara's blood. Gaara gasped and screamed.

"BLOOD! MY OWN BLOOD!"

Temari and Kankuro looked down in awe. Naruto had actually injured Gaara? Naruto grunnted, forming a second Rasengan to try and break free of the vice like grip that he was held in. He yanked his arm free and saw the Shukaku's hand come out of the hole and feel around for Naruto before being drawn back into the sphere The sphere suddenly burst open, revealing the fully formed Shukaku. He continued to grow, unti He dwarfed the stadium. Naruto knew this was bad, and he had to get Gaara away from here before he hurt anyone. He looked to the examiner and rushed over to explain his plan. The examiner nodded and Naruto yelled up to the Shukaku.

"Oi, Shukaku. I won't fight you here, but I will fight you away from these people. Head to the west into the forest if you want this to continue!"

"**Very well, Uzumaki Naruto."**

Naruto jumped onto the west wall of the staduim. He turned to the auidence.

"Whatever you do, DO NOT follow us! We are settling this match in the forest. If you go outside, you will be able to see us fight."

The people stared dumbly at Naruto. He was going to challenge that thing? Surely even he couldn't win against the Shukaku?

Naruto lept down the other side of the stadium's wall and ran off after the Shukaku. When he was away from the village, he concerntraited all of his power for a summon.

"Kuchiyose no Justsu!"

A huge cloud of smoke appeared, and when it cleared, everyone saw the Kyubi no Kitsune there, with Uzumaki Naruto atop it's head.

"**Oi, kit, why'd you bring me out? I was enjoying watching this fight from the safety of my cage."**

"I need your help, Kyubi. We need to show the Shukaku who's the stronger demon."

"**Fine. It's been a while since I fought another demon lord in physical combat. You ready?"**

Naruto nodded.

"**Then let's go!"**

The Kyubi ran at Shukaku who sucked in air for an attack.

"**Fuuton: Renkuudan!"**

The Shukaku slammed his fist into his stomach, releasing a ball of concerntraited air filled with chakra at the Kyubi. The Kyubi dodged to the left and continued his charge. Shukaku shot another airball at the Kyubi ,which he also dodged. The Kyubi latched onto the Shukaku and tried to rip his arm off with his fangs. The Shukaku grunted in pain as the Kyubi finally bit through it and severed it. Naruto looked at how much they had damaged the landscape already.

"Oi, Kyubi, we need to finish this quickly!"

"**I know, Kit. Whatever happens, we can't let the meduim fall asleep. If he does, the real powers of the Shukaku will come out."**

Naruto didn't like the sound of that. Naruto saw at the top of the Shukaku's head, a human form appeared. It was Gaara. Gaara looked at Naruto.

"**You've entertained me greatly, Uzumaki Naruto. Now, witness the true powers of the sand demon! Forced Sleep Technique!"**

The Kyubi snarled.

"**Shit! We're too late!"**

The Shukaku was silent for a moment. Suddenly, the Shukaku's irises turned bright yellow, with four even brighter dots around the edge of the iris and the pupil was a black cross.

"**Oh yeah! I'm finally free! And I found someone I want to kill right off the bat! Fuuton: Renkuudan!"**

The Kyubi noticed this and tensed his back legs.

"**Kit, we're jumping!"**

The Kyubi lept into the air, narrowly avoiding the ball of air that went ripping through the forest where the Kyubi had just been standing. The Shukaku let off a volley of his air attacks at his target.

"**Fire Type: Hell Fire!"**

The Kyubi let forth a volley of fireballs to counter the air balls. They all cancelled one another out, except the Kyubi had made one to few fire balls.

"Oi, Kyubi, this is bad you missed-"

Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence, as the last ball of air impacted on the Kyubi and exploded.

"**I did it! I did it! I killed the king of the demons!"**

"**Did you, you bastard? You pumped a lot of chakra into that air ball, and it hurt like hell!"**

The Kyubi landed facing the Shukaku, badly hurt, but still in the fight. The Kyubi got readyt to charge again.

"**Go wake up that damn medium so we can end this and go home."**

Kyubi charged at the Shukaku and bit into him, holding him still.

"**Go! Now! This is probably our last chance so make it count!"**

Naruto lept off the Kyubi's head and flew at the sleeping Gaara.

"Wake up you bastard!"

Naruto gave Gaara a punch to the head, waking him up. Naruto panted.

"**The jutsu is being dispelled? Shit! I only just came out! SHIT!"**

With that, the Shukaku was suppressed once again, and Naruto looked up to see Gaara waking up. Naruto charged at Gaara, attempting to end this. Gaara made the skin of the Shukaku under Naruto's feet into quicksand consistency. Gaara pulled some sand off other areas of the Shukaku to try and wrap around Naruto for a Sabaku Sousou. Kyubi managed to free one of his arms and put it over Naruto, protecting him. Gaara tried to make Naruto sink furtner into the Shukaku, but Naruto focussed and brought out the little bit of his regular chakra that he had left. He blew the sand away from his feet. The Kyubi took his hand away and Naruto charged at Gaara. Gaara tried desperatly to restrian Naruto, but Naruto used as much strength as he could to give Gaara a headbutt. It was all he needed, as the Shukaku began to crack and eventually shattered, leaving Naruto and Gaara to fall to the ground.

"**Oi, Kit, I'm at my limit. I'm going back to my cage to rest. See you later."**

Kyubi poofed out of existance. Naruto and Gaara fell onto two branches and they looked at each other. They were both panting heavily.

"I'm at my limit, you are two right? How about we end this with one final blow?"

Naruto and Gaara lept at each other, before they traded punches. Naruto mamaged to block Gaara's while still punching him in the face. Gaara collapsed, and Naruto bent to one knee. He breathed heavily. Gaara looked up to see Naruto walking up to him.

"Don't.. Don't come any closer!"

Naruto looked at Gaara on the verge of tears.

"Being alone... Being incomplete... The pain of those feelings... I completely undestand them... However, if you threaten my friends, I will not heasitate to stop you!"

Gaara looked shocked. So it was true... Naruto really was fighting for others.

"So this whole time... You've been fighting for them, and not yourself?"

"Yeah, because the save me from the cold dark hell of being alone. They acknowledged that I exsited as a human being and not as a demon. That is why they are precious to me."

At that moment, Sasuke and Yukiko appeared beside Naruto.

"Good job Naruto. Everyone's expecting you back at the stadium."

"I see."

Yukiko picked up Naruto and slung his arm over her shoulder. Sasuke walked over to Gaara and smiled.

"Here, I'll help you back to the stadium."

"Thank you..."

"No problem."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back at the Stadium:**

Everyone was getting restless. Both of the giant demons had dissapeared and Yukiko and Sasuke had gone to check on the situation. Someone yelled out to everyone.

"They're back!"

Everyone turned to see Yukiko carrying Naruto and Sasuke carring Gaara. They ran down the walls of the stadium and stopped in front of the examiner. Naruto let go of Yukiko and Sasuke put the sleeping Gaara on the floor. The examiner declared the winner.

"Gaara is unable to continue fighting! Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

Everyone let out a roar of approval before Naruto just slumped to the ground. Yukiko smiled as the team of medics carried both Naruto and Gaara off the field. The examiner announced the next match.

"Could the fighters of the second fight of round two please step up?"

Sasuke and Yukiko came into the ring, looking very dispondent.

The examiner brought his hand down and jumped back.

"Please begin."

Sasuke and Yukiko just stared at each other. Eventually, Sasuke turned his back.

"I can't do it, I forfeit."

Everyone just looked on in shock.

"Why Sasuke-San?"

"My brother murdered my entire clan when I was seven. He left me alive, for what reason I don't know. Up until we formed Team Seven with Sakura and Naruto, I was hell bent on revenge. Now that I've found precious people once again, my view on life has changed. I've finally gained back the family I once had. Sure, you guys aren't blood family, but you're family none the less. You're too important for me to harm. I could never harm my sister and brother's girlfriend."

"I see..."

The examiner sighed.

"Winner, Yakushi Yukiko."

Sasuke walked back up to the contestants stand. This is the moment everyone had been waiting to see. The finals. Yukiko waited as Naruto came out and stood infront of her, also looking despondant. The examiner looked at both of them before questioning them.

"Do you guys want to say something?"

Naruto and Yukiko looked at each other and nodded.

"We forfiet."

Now everyone was getting pissed off. They started booing, but others quieteined them, giving the two a chance to explain.

"Yukiko, remember what I said in the preliminaries when I was talking about us as a team?"

Yukiko nodded her head.

"You said you would rather quit the Chunin exam than harm us..."

"Yeah. Like Sasuke said, you guys are family to me. Unlike Sasuke, however, my mum and dad died the day I was born, leaving me to grow up without a parent's love. When I met you and got to know you, I felt like part of me that I didn't even know was missing complete itself. You're far too precious for me to touch in any way but in affection. Even if you had given up and Sasuke faced me, I would have done the same thing. I can't afford to have you, Sasuke, Sakura-Chan or Kakashi-Sensei harmed if I can help it. One of the skills a Chunin should have is the judgement of when to fight, and when not to fight. Right now, I think this is one of those times I shouln't be fighting."

"Naruto-Kun, I grew up in exactly the same way you did. My entire clan was sacrificed the day of my birth to seal away Nibi, the two tailed demon queen. I also grew up without a parent's love. When I met you, it was like I gained a brother. Soon, that relationship grew and you asked me to be your girlfriend. I was so happy. No one had ever shown me such affection. When we formed Team Seven, I gained a sister, a brother and a father. No one could tell how happy I was, but it was the happiest day of my life. I could never harm any of you, you mean far to much to me for me to even harm you, even if it was a regulated match."

The examiner sighed.

"Both participants forfeit, meaning that no one wins the matches."

The crowd looked content, even with the draw. The Hokage turned to the Kazekage and smiled.

"Shall we wrap things up?"

The Kazakage just nodded.

"Very well."

The Hokage stood up and walked to the edge of the stand.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this concludes the main matches. I hope you have enjoyed the fine display of tallent shown to you today. Enjoy your day."

People started filing out of the stadium. Sasuke and Saskura rand down to their team mates, with Kakashi not far behind. Kakashi smiled.

"I'm proud of all of you. You've grown incredibly strong. Not just physically strong, but mentally as well. I'm especially prowd of you Naruto. You've shown you have everything it takes to become a Chunin. You too Sasuke, Yukiko."

Jiraiya took that moment to appearbeside the group.

"I knew you two would make it to the finals. That was a very impressive display from both of you."

Naruto smiled.

"Thanks, Kakashi-Sensei, Ero-Sennin."

Kakashi looked at Jiraiya in confusion.

"Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya sighed.

"Aparently, Arashi thought it would be funny to tell Naruto to call me that."

Kakashi smiled.

"I see."

Naruto remembered that Kakashi had said he had known his father and decided to ask again.

"Neh, Kakashi-Sensei, how do you know my father?"

Kakashi smiled sadly.

"He was my sensei."

Naruto lightened up a bit.

"Was he a good guy?"

"Yes Naruto, he was. You have no idea how much you remind me of him. The way you look, the way you act. Your fierce protection of your friends. It's like he was reborn as you."

Naruto smiled sadly. He then looked up with determination.

"I'm not my dad, but I'm going to try even harder to be better than he was!"

Kakashi smiled.

"That's the exact thing your father would say."

Naruto smiled as the group left the stadium, chatting amongst themselves.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Yay! I got the whole Chunin finals matches into one chapter! If you're wondering why the orochimaru disguised Kazekage didn't attack, it's because Kabuto didn't give the signal for the invasion to begin, so it never happened, although Konoha was ready for it, thanks to Naruto's note he gave to Kakashi. I appologise if you thought the way I did the matches sucked, but it's the only way I could think of that would get Sasuke, Yukiko and Naruto promoted to Chunin. Anyways, until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	15. Kakashi's Face & The Trip

**A/N:** Yo! This episode, Naruto is going to begin his two and a half years training with Jiraiya. Don't worry, Yukiko's going with him.

The thing you'd never hear somone say from the Naruto world for this chapter: '**KAKASHI** : "BE FREE, MY LITTLE ONE. SWIM WITH YOUR FAMILY!" throws Iruka off the dock, crying'

**Saiyan prince1**, to answer your question, Yes Naruto was at 60 percent power and yes Shukaku is nine times weaker than Kyubi, but Naruto at that stage had only unlocked about 50ish percent of Kyubi's total power. His body couln't handle the rest of it. It's like that in the official story too.

As always, I hope my creativity give you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 14:

Jiraiya's Proposition:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Three Days After the Finals, at the Konoha Hospital:**

Naruto felt warm and confortable. He slowly opened his eyes to see sunlight streaming in through the windows. He slowly let his eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, before opening them to see Yukiko by his side. Naruto smiled and put his hand on Yukiko's. Yukiko noticed this, and smiled at Naruto.

"Welcome back, Naruto-Kun."

"Thank you, Yukiko-Chan. Say, how long was I out for?"

"About three days."

"EH!"

Yukiko clapped a hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Naruto-Kun, keep it down! This is a hospital!"

"Eh heh heh, sorry Yukiko-Chan."

"The doctor said that as soon as you woke up to go and get him. I'll be back in a second, ok?"

"Ok."

Yukiko walked out and began chatting with someone, before continuing to go down the hall. The person Yukiko was talking to stepped into the room. It was Jiraiya.

"Yo, Naruto. I see you've finally woken up."

"Ah! Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto, ignoring the comment.

"Naruto, the Sandaime is expecting you in his office when you get out."

"Eh? Did I get Chunin?"

Jiraiya turned and walked out the door.

"Meet me when you get out of the hospital. I'll be waiting out front."

Naruto grumbled, but accepted what Jiraiya had just said. Yukiko took that moment to walk into the room, followed by a doctor.

"Ah, it's good to see you're awake, Naruto-Kun. After a display of power in the main matches like you put on, I'm surprised that you didn't wake up in several weeks, not several days. Anyway, I have to perform a few more tests to determine if you need to stay for longer or if we can discharge you immediately."

Naruto smiled at the doctor and nodded. The doctor began with a blood pressure test. After that, the doctor removed Naruto's bandages and checked the wounds to find they were gone. The doctor inspected Naruto's eyes before stepping back.

"Amazing, simply amazing. I have no reason to hold you in here any longer, Naruto-Kun. You're free to go."

Naruto jumped out of bed and found he was wearing hospital clothes. Yukiko smiled in understanding and pointed to his clothes that were sitting on the bed next to him, freshly cleaned.

"I washed your clothes for you, Naruto-Kun. We'll leave you to get dressed."

"Arigato, Yukiko-Chan."

Yukiko just smiled, turned around and walked out of the room. The doctor smiled and also left the room, closing the door behind him. Naruto got dressed quickly and walked out the door to meet with Yukiko.

"Ero-Sennin is waiting for us. Let's go!"

Yukiko smiled and let herself be led by the hand. Naruto noticed something different. Some people weren't staring at him with cold eyes. They were... Smiling at him? Naruto couldn't believe it. Most people were still giving him cold stares, but some of them were smiling at him. Naruto smiled back and let Yukiko to the front desk, where they could both sign out. Once they did, they walked out the front doors to see not only Jiraiya, but Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke there as well. Naruto smiled and waved. Sakura smiled and waved back. Sasuke smiled and raised a hand in greeting. Kakashi just smiled. Jiraiya turned and motioned for everyone to follow. They all took off over the rooves towards the Hokage's Tower.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Inside the Hokage's Office:**

Naruto, Yukiko and Sasuke had arrived to find Shikamaru already waiting with Asuma. They turned when the door opened. Naruto was the first to respond.

"Hey, Shikamaru! You were asked to come here as well?"

"It seems so. I don't know why though, I'd rather be watching the clouds."

Once the four Genin lined up in front of the Hokage with their teachers behind them, the Hokage looked up.

"I would like to say that all of you put on a fine display during the main matches, especially you, Naruto. Our client numbers have increased substancially since the finals, it seems that the power of the leaf village and it's shinobi is clear, however that's not exactly why I summoned you here.

Naruto looked confused.

"Then what did you summon us for?"

"After confering with the other judges, we have all agreed. The four of you display the qualities necessary for a Chunin, as so we have decided to promote the four of you to the rank of Chunin. Now, there are responsibilites-"

The Hokage didn't get to finish, as Naruto was leaping into the air shouting.

"YATTA! I'M A CHUNIN! HA HA!"

Everyone just smiled. The Hokage waitied until Naruto had calmed down again before continuing.

"As I was saying, there are responsibilites you must take care of as a Chunin. The rank Chunin makes you a team captain, meaning you are responsible for your team's lives. There is one golden rule that you must adheare to at all times. And that is that the lives of your team are more important than any mission. It's no good coming back from a dangerous mission saying 'I completed the mission, but my team is dead.' You are required to do the best to take care of your team and also to hand out intelligent commands in battle. That is what it means to be a Chunin, although it seems all of you have taken all of those qualities to heart. I would now like to present you with your Chunin jackets."

The Hokage got out of his chair and went to the wall where four Chunin jackets were hung. He removed them and gave one to Shikamaru, then one to Sasuke, Yukiko and finally Naruto. The four Genin now Chunin put their jackets on and looked over themselves before looking back up at the Hokage, who smiled at them.

"Once again, congratulations on your promotion. Do Konoha prowd. You are dismissed."

Naruto smiled.

"Don't worry, old man. We won't let you down."

Everyone just smiled at Naruto. They filed out the door, leaving the Hokage to do his work. Jiraiya turned and pulled Naruto and Yukiko to the side.

"Guys, as much as I hate to do this, I'm going to do the main part of your dad's request, Naruto. I'm taking both of you for four years on a training mission."

"EH? FOUR YEARS!"

Yukiko was also shocked.

"But didn't Naruto-Kun's father say we would only go for two and a half years?"

Jiraiya sighed.

"Currently, neither of you could stand up to a member of Akatsuki. Two and a half years just sin't enough. By the time I'm finished with you, you'll be able to at least hold your own against one. Sarutobi-Sensei has already agreed, ranking this as an S class mission. However, I'm not so cruel as to drag you two out of here without being able to say goodbye to your friends. I'll give you guys two days to do what you want. At 9 am in three days, I want you to meet me at the north gate. Got it?"

Naruto and Yukiko looked despondent.

"Hey, at least I'm allowing you to bring your girlfriend, Naruto. It's not all bad."

Naruto smiled.

"Heh, you're right. Ok, Yukiko-Chan! Let's go and see our friends!"

"Yeah."

They walked hand in hand out into the sunlight to say their farewells to all their friends.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**5 Minutes Later, On Some Non Descript Street in Konoha:**

Naruto and Yukikio were walking through town waving to the people who smiled and waved at them. Eventually, Naruto caught sight of one black haired lavender eyed Hyuga genius walking towards him. Naruto smiled and waved.

"Yo! Neji!"

Neji walked up to Naruto and smiled faintly.

"Good morning, Naruto. I see you made Chunin, as did you, Yukiko. Congratulations."

They both smiled. Yukiko bowed slightly while Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, thanks Neji."

"You're welcome. By the way, Naruto I have to thank you for removing my seal."

"You're welcome."

Neji smiled.

"Hiashi-Sama has no idea what to do with me. He won't put the seal back on, because he knows you will remove it straight away, yet technically a Hyuga without a caged bird seal is a member of the Head Family. The entire Hyuga main family is in an uproar that you removed my seal. I fear that if the Hyugas become any more unstable, they might collapse."

Naruto smiled.

"I kind of hope they do. They're too arrogant for their own good, and I think they need to be taken down a peg or two."

Neji laughed.

"For once, I have to agree with you. After our fight, I reviewed my entire life, and I saw that the Hyugas weren't as great as I thought they were, and also that I had been waiting for life to hand me things, and not activly seeking them myself. I have already appologised to Hinata for the preliminaries and I'm trying to start living my life as I want to now. Naruto, you have eyes that see much more than mine ever could."

Yukiko and Naruto smiled.

"Good job Neji. Oh and I wanted to tell you something else."

Neji raised an eyebrow in interest.

"And what would that be?"

"Ero-Sennin is taking the two of us on a four year training mission."

Neji looked at Naruto quizzically.

"Ero-Sennin?"

Yukiko laughed and answered for Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun means Jiraiya-Sensei. He has a nasty personality which makes him a super pervert."

Neji laughed.

"To think the great Jiraiya-Sama is a pervert... How amusing."

Naruto tried to get the point across to Neji just how bad he really was.

"Pervert is an understatement! He peeks into women's baths claiming it's for 'research'!"

Neji stopped laughing and made a disgusted look.

"That's disgusting. Naruto, if you come back after four years and you turn out like him, I will lose all of my respect for you."

Naruto smiled and gave Neji a nice guy pose.

"I won't let his bad traits rub off on me! That's a promise!"

Neji smiled.

"It was nice saying goodbye to you two, however I am expected back at the Hyuga household soon. Naruto, I expect you to keep your promise and return far stronger than you are now. I'll see you later."

"I expect you to become stronger too, Neji. I might want a rematch."

Neji stopped walking away.

"A rematch? I'll take you up on that. We'll sort out the details when you get back. Goodbye, Naruto."

"Later, Neji!"

Yukiko smiled and took Naruto's hand and they continued trying to find their other friends. After another few minutes of walking, they saw Shino and Kiba. Kiba sniffed the air as Naruto and Yukiko approached. He turned towards them and smiled.

"Yo! Yukiko! Naruto!"

"Hey Kiba, Shino!"

The four of them stood facing each other. Shino was the first to break the silence.

"I see you two made it to Chunin. Congratulations, you deserve it."

"Thanks Shino."

Kiba smirked.

"After your matches, I don't think anyone will be messing with you two. Geez, Naruto, you said you were holding back in your fight with Lee? How powerful are you really?"

Naruto smiled sadly.

"Not powerful enough."

Kiba looked confused.

"Eh?"

Yukiko replied for Naruto.

"You know that we are both demon containers. There is a group of above Kage level ninja somewhere out there called Akatsuki who's goal is to caputre all the demon containers and drain them of their Bijus, thereby killing the container. We have to become much stronger if we want to live."

Shino covered up for his team mate's remark.

"I see. Just know that we we always be by your side, demon containers or not, you are still our friends who we will help in any way we can."

Kiba smiled.

"He's right. If you ever need help, just give us a yell and we'll be by your side in a flash."

Yukiko smiled.

"Arigato, Kiba, Shino."

"No worries."

Naruto looked back up, telling them the real reason they waed to talk.

"Shino, Kiba. The reason I wanted to talk to you is that in thee days, Yukiko-Chan and I are leaving the village for a four year training mission. It's for our own good. We need to get as strong as possible."

Kiba smirked.

"Who's the lucky sensei to get the two of you for four years? Kakashi?"

Yukiko shook her head.

"No, Jiraiya-Sensei will be teaching us."

Shino raised an eyebrow.

"Jiraiya-Sama? You two have got possibly one of the best teachers alive. Don't waste any of your time with him."

Naruto gave a 'hmph' before replying.

"I'm sure he would be good... If he didn't spend most of his time looking into the girls baths..."

Kiba choked and Shino remained motionless.

"He does WHAT!"

Yukiko just sighed.

"It's true. He peeks into the women's bathing area, claiming its for 'research'."

Kiba suddenly got angry.

"Oi, Naruto. Don't let that guy make you into a pervert too!"

Naruto laughed.

"I intend to be anything but a pervert when I come back."

Shino extended his hand.

"I sincerely hope you keep to that intention, Naruto. It was nice for you to say goodbye to us."

Naruto smiled and took Shino's hand.

"I hope to come back and find you guys all to be at least Chunin. Four years is plenty of time, don't you think?"

Shino just nodded and pulled his hand back to his side. With that, Naruto and Yukiko waved and continued off to find everyone else. Kiba turned to Shino.

"They make a cute couple don't they?"

Shino just nodded in agreement. Both of them continued walking to their training grounds.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**That Evening at the Uzumaki Residence:**

Naruto and Yukiko walked up the front path to their house. They had said goodbye to nearly all of their friends. Only three remained. Naruto turned to Yukiko and gave her a hug.

"Only Sakura-Chan, Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei are left. We'll say goodbye to them tomorrow, neh Yukiko-Chan?"

"Sounds good to me. Why don't we go inside? I'll start making dinner."

Naruto nodded and opened the front door. Yukiko walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to see what she could make with the ingredients she had available. Naruto decided to go up and look in his father's box while he waited. When Naruto got up to their room, he went to the desk and took the box off the desk. He was just about to turn around when something caught his eye. Naruto turned and saw that one of the desk's draws was slighly open, with something shiny inside it. Naruto opened the draw to see a picture frame. Naruto almost dropped the picture.

"This... This is..."

Naruto looked down sadly at the picture. It showed a very tired, but smiling Yondaime Hokage who had his arm around the shoulder of a very beautiful looking woman. In the woman's arms was a small child, who had whisker marks on his cheeks. Naruto put the box on his bed and went back to the desk, sitting down and just stared at the picture. Naruto was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Yukiko announce that dinner was ready. After a whike, Yukiko got worried and went up to the bedroom. She saw Naruto hunched over the desk, a picture in his hand.

"Naruto-Kun? Is something wrong?"

Yukiko approached Naruto, who didn't seem to notice her approach. She leaned over his shoulder, looking at the photo. Now she knew why Naruto hadn't heard her. She smiled sadly, and put her hand gently on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto seemed to notice Yukiko's presence.

"This is..."

"I know, Naruto-Kun. It's your real family. Why don't you leave the photo for a minute and come have something to eat? I hate wasting good food."

Naruto finally tore his eyes away from the picture and gave a fake smile to Yukiko. Yukiko knew this had affected Naruto deeply, so she lent in and gave him a kiss. Naruto seemed to wake up a little bit. Yukiko finally drew back, smiling at Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun, your real family may have passed away, but your new family is still alive. You can't keep looking at the past, thinking 'what if'. You have to accept the fact that most if the time 'what if' will never be and look forward into the future, concerntraiting on what you know you can achieve. Now come down and eat dinner with me."

Naruto smiled and pulled Yukiko into a bear hug.

"Thank you, Yukiko-Chan. Let's go eat dinner."

Yukiko smiled and led Naruto by the hand downstairs to eat the stir fry she had cooked up. Once they finished, they sat looking through the box for a while before going to bed.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Next Morning:**

Yukiko was the first to wake up, being closest to the window and having most of the morning's light shining onto her face. She groggily opened her eyes and looed out the window. It was a beautiful morning, only a few clouds in the sky. She heard snoring next to her. She rolled over to see Naruto snoring and muttering to himself.

_'He's dreaming. How cute.'_

Yukiko smiled with her face inches from Naruto's. Suddenly, Naruto got a pained expression on his face, and he started thrashing about in bed, moaning. Yukiko looed worried. Naruto suddenly wrapped his arms around Yukil and pulled her into his chest. Yukiko froze when she heard the words escape from Naruto's lips.

"No... Yukiko-Chan... Don't die... I can't go on... Without you..."

Yukiko smiled sadly and put her arms around Naruto, attempting to comfort him through his nighmare. Naruto slowly clamed down and went back to snoring. Yukiko decided it was time to wake him. She covered his mouth with hers and kissed him. Naruto found he couldn't breathe, and so he woke up and pulled back, gasping for air. Yukiko pouted.

"Didn't you like that?"

"No! I just... Couldn't breathe..."

Naruto looked sad. Yukiko pulled him back into a hug.

"Naruto-Kun, I heard what you said. I died in your dream, didn't I?"

Naruto stiffened and then slumped.

"Yeah it was horrible. You were having Nibi drained out of you and I was being held back by two members of Akatsuki, forced to watch you die infront of me. I... I never want to see you die like that again..."

Yukiko smiled.

"As long as I have you by my side, I won't die of anything but old age. There's no need to worry, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto smiled and was about to lean in for another kiss when something thumped against the window. Naruto and Yukiko started, and looked at the window. Sure enough, a clump of dirt struck the window again. Naruto let go of Yukiko and stomped to the window. Naruto opened the window just in time to cop another clump of dirt in the face. Naruto looked down to see who had done this. His anger melted away when he saw Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi looking up at him. Kakashi was the first to speak up.

"Yo, Naruto. We heard you'll be leaving the village for four years with Yukiko tomorrow morning. We were thinking of spending a day together as a team. Get Yukiko and meet us at Ichiraku in half an hour, ok? See you there!"

With that, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke walked off towards Ichiraku. Naruto began thinking.

_'It's been ages since I've been to Ichiraku... I wonder how the old man's doing?'_

Naruto leaned back inside and closed the window. When he turned to face Yukiko, she burst out laughing.

"Nani? What's so funny?"

"Your face Naruto-Kun. It's covered in dirt. Go and take a shower, I'll go make breakfast."

"Uh, actually, Kakashi-Sensei invited us to Ichiraku's for a final team bonding session before we leave. I'll go take a quick shower, then you have one and then we have to go. We have less than thirty minutes to get to Ichiraku's."

Yukiko didn't mind. In fact, she wouldn't mind a break from cooking. She got out of bed and started stretching, and decided to meditate. Naruto walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on. After a while, Yukiko noticed in the back of her mind that the shower had been turned off, so she brought herself out of her meditation and opened her eyes in time to see a still partially wet bare chested Naruto walking out of the bathroom. He noticed Yukiko starting at him and he blushed, which when she noticed blushed and got up, going for the bathroom. Naruto shook his head and got dressed, putting on his black cargo pants, red shirt and putting his Chunin vest over the top. Naruto went to the desk and looked at the picture of his real family, before opening the box and taking several things out. He took out his dad's set of three pointed obsedian kunai and a few scrolls on seals and the 'Seal Eye' By this stage, Yukiko had finished her shower and had come out of the bathroom. Naruto desired to avoid a repeat of what had happened when he had come out of the bathroom, so he smiled and walked out of the bedroom. Yukiko quickly got changed and went downstairs to see Naruto biting his thumb. He formed some hand seals and slammed his hand into the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A three tailed black kitsune appeared and lowered itself to the ground. Naruto hopped up and held a hand out to Yukiko.

"Come on, Yukiko-Chan. We'll get here on time this way."

Yukiko jumped up behind Naruto. Naruto saw that Yukiko was ready and patted the kitsune on the head, who got up and began running down the street towards Ichiraku.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**10 Minutes Later, at Ichiraku's:**

Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi had been waiting for several minutes when they heard a patter of feet coming towards them. They turned to see Naruto and Yukiko atop a three tailed black kitsune, who stopped out the front of Ichiraku's and laid down, letting Naruto and Yukiko hop off before dissapearing. They came into Ichiraku's and took a seat. The old man looked surprised.

Ayame was the first to notice Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun! It's good to see you again!"

"Ayame-Neechan! It's good to see you again!"

The old man came out of the back of his store and saw Naruto and instantly brightend.

"If it isn't my number one customer, Naruto! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a long time!"

Naruto smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah, sorry old man, I moved into a new house with Yukiko-Chan. She's a really good cook, and I found that I really like her cooking! It's about as good as your ramen."

The owner of Ichiraku smiled.

"I see, that's good to hear. I've always thought eating nothing but ramen would make you unhealthy. You seem to be looking well."

"Ha ha! Thanks, old man."

The old man smiled.

"Now, what can I get for my number one customer and his friends today?"

Naruto was the first to answer.

"Could I get a big bowl of miso-pork ramen with a boiled egg please?"

Yukiko, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi took a bit more time with their orders.

"Could I get a bowl of miso-beef ramen please?"

"Could I have the same thing as Naruto-Kun please?"

"I'd also like to get the same thing as Naruto, please."

Everyone waited for Kakashi to order. When he continued deciding, they turned.

"Aren't you going to order something, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi looked at Naruto and smiled.

"Yes, I'm just deciding."

After another twenty or so seconds, he looked back at the old man.

"Could I get that new item on the menu? What was it..."

"The ledgendary recipe?"

Kakashi smiled.

"That's the one."

"Sure! Three big bowls of miso-pork ramen with a boiled egg, a bowl of miso-beef ramen, and one bowl of ledgendary ramen coming right up!"

Naruto suddenly realised something.

_'I've never actually seen Kakashi-Sensei's face before... This is my big chance!'_

Naruto could obviously tell the other three were thinking the same thing. They were all staring at Kakashi intently as their bowls were served. Kakashi turned to his students.

"Hmm? What's with those faces?"

They all flinched anime style, shaking their heads rapidly.

"N-Nothing's wrong, Kakashi-Sensei!"

"Well then, time to eat."

Everything went in slow motion. Kakashi picked out a pair of chopsticks, split them and reached up for his mask. Sasuke, Sakura, Yukiko and Naruto's eyes bulged as they saw Kakashi hook his fingers under his mask and begin draging it down. The tension was litterally thick enough to cut with a knife. Just as Kakashi was about to pull the mask past the half way point of the bridge of his nose, Ino jumped onto Sasuke, forcing the other three to lose sight of Kakashi. Sasuke tried desperately to peer at Kakashi from underneath Ino, but couldn't turn his head.

"Sasuke-Kun!"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM, INO-PIG!"

"WHAT WAS THAT FOREHEAD-GIRL!"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF THE WAY! I CAN'T SEE!"

They all stopped as Kakashi spoke.

"Thank you for the meal, it was delicious."

Sasuke went bug-eyed.

"That was fast."

Naruto noticed Ayame and the old man's expressions. The old man had a face of envy, while Ayame had hearts in her eyes. Naruto slumped.

"Now I'm even more curious..."

Kakashi looked at everyone's expresions with confusion.

"Hmmm?"

Kakashi obviously wasn't going to eat anymore, so the others resumed their meals. Half an hour later, Sakura had finished one bowl, Sasuke three. They turned to Yukiko who had just finished her 19th bowl. Naruto was just finishing off his 21st. The other three looked at them in shock.

"How can you two eat so much!"

Naruto and Yukiko gave a fake smile, which the others saw through.

"Naruto, Yukiko, really, how do you manage it? It's ok to tell us..."

"Being a demon container requires a lot of food. Our metabolism is much bigger than a regular person's. Most of our money goes towards food. It's an unfortunate price to pay for having this kind of power..."

They all looked down at their empty plates. Naruto broke the downcast mood.

"Neh, Kakashi-Sensei. Do you have any other plans for the day?"

Kakashi looked up and smiled.

"Well, not really, but if you four want to come up with something, I'll be happy to join in. Oh, and I think Hokage-Sama wanted to say a final word to you two."

The four of them put their heads together. Apparently, they all wanted to see Kakashi's face. They turned back to Kakashi and smiled.

"Nah, we'll go and do our own things. Thanks for treating us, Kakashi-Sensei!"

With that, they all sped off. Kakashi looked at the bill and sighed.

"This is going to take a fair amount of money to pay for..."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**5 Minites Later Somewhere in Konoha:**

"Ok, we have the rest of today to see his face. Anyone got any ideas?"

Naruto thought before replying.

"I suggest we tail him."

Yukiko though about this.

"He's got to show his face eventually!"

"Ok, let's go!"

They allvanished from the area, leaving clouds ofdust as the only indication they were ever there. They eventually saw Kakashi walking down the street with a bag of shopping. They hid behind a billboard. When Kakashi walked past them he stopped. The four froze. Kakashi turned away from them, dropping his shopping bag and put himself up against the glass window of an adult book store. Kakashi was giggling like a school girl and moving across the glass like he was glued to it. The four of them looked disgusted.

"What the hell?"

"I've lost respect for him."

"Pervert..."

At that moment, Kakashi whipped his head around and gave a 'Hmm?' The four of them ducked low trying to hide themselves behind the billboard. Kakashi looked at the billboard in awe.

"Shit! He noticed us!"

"We should have been more quiet!"

Just then, Kakashi spoke his mind.

"Come Come Paradise the Movie! I'm going to reserve my ticket!"

Kakashi picked up his shopping and began skipping off in the direction he was originally headed. The four of them poked their heads back up. Sakura announced the obvious.

"He's moving!"

Sasuke responded.

"We're going after him!"

"Ok!"

Just as Kakashi turned the corner, the four of them jumped down and skidded to a halt turning the corner.

"He's gone!"

"Shit! He got away!"

"Where did he go?"

Kakashi loomed up behind them, scaring them badly.

"What are you guys doing?"

When they didn't answer, Kakashi leaned over them.

"Do you have business with me?"

They all shook their heads rapidly.

"Not really..."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Half an Hour Later:**

"Ok, so we failed tailing him a a group. Should we try individually?"

"If we tail him properly, numbers shouldn't matter."

"Let's just try individually anyway."

"Naruto, you go first."

"Whatever."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**An Hour Later:**

Naruto had spotted Kakashi walking through the steets of Konoha. He follwed Kakashi, taking cover behind any buildings he could. Eventually, Kakashi just vanished into thin air, leaving a pissed off Naruto behind.

"Damn..."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Shortly After, At a Little Drinks Stand:**

Sasuke, Yukiko and Sakura were all sitting, chatting. When they saw Naruto approach, they gave him a questioning look. Naruto hunched over and sighed, the other three following suit.

"Yukiko, you go next."

"Hai."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A Few Minutes Later At the Hokage's Tower:**

Yukiko was waiting outside the Hokage's Tower, peering into the Hokage's office. Kakashi and the Hokage appeared to be talking. Kakashi reached up for his mask.

_'This is it! The moment I've been waiting for!'_

Just as Kakashi started lowering his mask a voice called out to Yukiko.

"Oi! What are you doing up there! Get down from there immediatedly!"

The Hokage and Kakashi turned to see what the disturbance was and noticed Yukiko there. Shemade herself scarce before anything could happen.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Shortly After, At a Little Drinks Stand:**

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura turned to see Yukiko there smiling shyly.

"Well?"

"Almost..."

The three sighed.

"You next, Sakura."

"Hai."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**About Two Hours Later At the Ninja Memorial:**

Sakura had been watching Kakashi stand infront of that memorial for two hours now.

"Kakashi-Sensei hasn't moved an inch in two hours... WAIT! Don't tell me he-"

Sakura burst out from the trees and ran infront of 'Kakashi' to see that he was a carefully dressed scarecrow. Sakura slumed and trudged back to the others.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Shortly after at a Little Drinks Stand:**

The others noticed Sakura approaching. Sasuke asked the question.

"Well?"

"Eh heh heh heh... He got away..."

They all slumped. They turned to Sasuke. Sasuke however had another idea. He discussed it with them and they all agreed.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**That Evening, at the Konoha Hotsprings:**

The girls were unfortunately going to have to rely on Sasuke and Naruto's description, as they wouldn't be able to see it first hand. Sasuke and Naruto came out of the water, breathing through their noses.

"This is a really good plan, Sasuke."

"Thanks. Quiet! He's coming!"

They both looked as the door of the men's hot spring opened. There was the sillouette of Kakashi, walking towards them. Both of them got up and waited in anticipation. Finally Kakashi got close enough for Naruto and Sasuke to see him wearing...

Another mask. They both facefaulted. Kakashi smiled and sat down in the bath.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Late That Evening Out the Front of the Uzumaki Residence:**

Everyone had had enough, except for Naruto who had one idea left.

"The only thing I can think of is to actually ask Kakashi-Sensei what's under his mask. I'm sure he'll see us off tomorrow, so meet us there."

"That'll never work..."

"We've tried everything else. Might as well try this..."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**9 am The Next Morning:**

Naruto and Yukiko turned up to the gate for a nice suprise. Not only had Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke turned up to see them off, the whole of the Rookie Nine as well as Lee's team and their senseis had come to see them off. Even the Hokage was there. They all took turns to give Naruto last words of advice or pat him on the back, or give him a hug, depending on what gender the person was. The same treatment applied for Yukiko. Finally, it was just Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura. They nodded and Naruto spoke up.

"Neh, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi looked up.

"Hmm?"

"What's it like under that mask?"

"Nani? You wanted to see what's under this mask?"

"Yeah."

"Then you should have said so."

"So, you're going to show it to us?"

"I don't mind."

Suddenly, EVERYONE was crowded around, trying to see what was under Kakashi's mask. Kakashi sweatdropped before reaching up for his mask.

"Here goes..."

_'Is it... Fish lips?'_

_'Or horse teeth?'_

_'I have to know!'_

Kakashi hooked his hand underneath his mask.

"Under this mask is..."

Everyone's hearts were pounding. Finally, Kakshi ripped off his mask to reveal:

"Another mask! Surprised?"

Eveyone screamed their reply in unison.

"NANI?"

The whole village heard it, they turned for a moment towards the north where it had come from before turing back to get on with their lives. Everyone at the gate just facefaulted. Kakashi just scratched the back of his head and laughed. Naruto was the first to recover.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Finally, everyone recovered. Jiraiya came up to Naruto and Yukiko.

"Alright you two, we're off!"

Naruto and Yukiko looked back as they gave their final goodbye waves to everyone else. Jiraiya went with a spring in his step while Naruto and Yukiko walked beinhind him despondantly, rising over the crest of the hill and dissparearing from view.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Heh, I love this issue. I got inspiration from episode 101 for this. I think it was probably the funniest episode out of all of them, but then again that's just my opinion. As for why I extended the training from two and a half to four years? If you think about it, you might figure it out. I'm not telling you what the reason is until the last chapter of their trip. And I am most certainly not going to write about everything they do in those four years, as I would never finish. I will put about... 25 to 50 percent of it in, namely the most important parts. Oh well, until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	16. Intermission 2

**A/N:** Sorry about the wait between chapters readers. I know I'm not usually this tardy, but I lost my USB stick for a few days and that had the only remotely complete copy of the next chapter on it. I found out I had left it at an internet café and luckily one of my friends picked it up for me. Anyways, now that it's back I my possession, I'm going to immediately get back to writing. Catch you all soon!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	17. The Journey Begins

**A/N:** I'm back! I just had to watch episode 101 again. It never ceases cracking me up. Anyways, I'll get on with the chapter now. Oh, and sorry if you were expecting the speech that the Hokage gave Naruto and Yukiko, I'll include it in a flashback this chapter. I was trying to avoid flashbacks if I could help it.

The thing you'd never hear people say from the Naruto world: **JIRAIYA:** "I've decided to give up writing novels and become a priest."

As always, I hope my creativity give you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 15:

The Journey Begins:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Early the Next Morning:**

Naruto woke up to find that Yukiko had her faces inches from his, with one hand on his chest. They hod both decided last night that they were going to sleep in the same sleeping bag, despite the warning the Hokage had given them.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Two Days Ago, In the Hokage's Office:**

Yukiko and Naruto were sitting holding hands in the chairs opposite the Hokage. The old man took a puff of his pipe before starting his speech.

"I understand that you two are involved with one another. I really don't mind if you two are going out, however there is one thing I'd like to impress upon the two of you."

They both listened.

"Jiraiya is a pervert, and a large one at that. If memory serves, he refers to himself as a 'super pervert'. I do NOT want either of you to let his ettiqute corrupt yours, do I make myself clear?"

Naruto smirked.

"I intend to turn out exactly the opposite way he did."

"That's an hourable goal, Naruto and I hope you achieve it. During your trip, there is one rule I would like to impose upon you two while you are away."

"What would that be, Hokage-Sama?"

"You two are to return here after four years as virgins, and by virgins I mean virgins by anyone's standards. Do I make myself clear?"

Yukiko and Naruto were blushing. Naruto was the first to defend them.

"NANI? I'm not a pervert like Kakashi-Sensei and Ero-Sennin! I would never do those sorts of things to Yukiko-Chan!"

The Hokage took another puff before continuing.

"You will find that as you grow older, your view of this will change, I can guarantee that."

Naruto sunk back into his chair. The Hokage sighed and decided to wrap up his speech.

"I know it will be difficult being away from your family for four years, but you're both strong enough to survive the hardships ahead of you. I wish you both the best of luck. Dismissed."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back in the Present:**

Naruto snuggled up to Yukiko and tried to go back to sleep. However, he was awoken by Jiraiya's voice.

"Oi, you two love birds get up. We have a long day of walking ahead of us. We need to get up if we want to reach the next town by nightfall."

Naruto groaned, but he placed a hand on Yukiko's shoulder and shook her gently.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, it's time to wake up."

Yukiko slowly opened her eyes and pouted at Naruto.

"Would it have been too much to ask to wake me up with a kiss?"

Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, sorry!"

Yukiko just smiled and got out of the sleeping bag. Jiraiya was looking up a little notebook, completely absorbed in whatever was written in it. Yukiko went off into the bushes to get changed. Naruto stood where he was and also got changed. After a minute they were both changed, and they went to see what Jiraiya was up to. Jiraiya however heard them apporach and snapped the book shut. He turned to face them with a smile.

"Ok you two, let's get going. We have a lot of ground to cover!"

Jiraiya lept up with a spring in his step, leaving Naruto and Yukiko to trail behind.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**That Night, At the Next Town:**

Jiraiya walked into the town and turned to face his two students.

"Ok you two, I'm going to go reserve two rooms at the inn. After that, you two have the night off."

"What are you going to do sensei?"

Jiraiya started giggling like a school girl. They didn't need to ask anymore, but Jiraiya still answered.

"Information gathering."

"How is that information gathering, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya sighed.

"I don't expect the two of you to understand at such a young age, I might tell you when you're older."

They both began walking off when Jiraiya stopped them.

"WAIT!"

They both turned back to him.

"Give me your wallets."

"EH! I'm not giving you my Gama-Chan!"

"Why do you want our wallets, Jiraiya-Sensei?"

Jiraiya made a curling motion with his fingers. He clearly wasn't going to answer. They both begrudgingly handed over their wallets. Jiraiya opened them both and whistled.

"You two sure have a lot of money for kids your age."

"That's because we save, Jiraiya-Sensei."

Jiraiya pulled out a small bit of money from each wallet and handed the money back to them.

"Eh? Only 3000 Yen? That's nothing!"

"Don't 'Eh' with me! There are three sins a shinobi is forbidden to do. You should have known this."

"3 sins?"

"Money, Alcohol and Women."

"That's right, Yukiko."

"Is that it? I'm too young to drink, There's only one woman who interests me-"

Naruto gives a sideways glance and smile at Yukiko, who blushes at this.

"-And I know how to use money wisely. Living by myself for 12 years will do that to you. So none of those sins apply to me."

Jiraiya sighed.

"I don't care. This is the money you're getting and that's that. Now, carry my stuff for me you two. If you get lost, the frogs can track you from them."

Jiraiya dumped his bags into Naruto and Yukiko's arms and gave them a shooing motion with his hands. They both turned and walked off into the crowds. They went to the first staw they saw. It was some sort of game where you had to use a ring that was covered in a thin film to catch fish out of a small tank. Naruto walked up to the store and paid the owner for a go. He put the ring into the water and got a fish on top of it and slowly pulled it towards the surface. However, as the ring got just above the surface of the water, the fish started flailing, causing the film to snap, releasing the fish back into the water.

"Sorry kid, but that means you lost. Want another try?"

"Yeah."

"Here you go then."

The owner handed Naruto another film. Naruto repeated the proccess, but again the film snapped when the fish got out of the water. He had three more goes before he lost his temper. He activated his 'Seal Eye' and started rapidly forming hand seals. However, when he was half way through, the owner clamped his hand over Naruto's. Naruto looked up questioningly. The man just shook his head, pointing to a sign behind him. It read 'No Ninja Techniques Allowed.' Naruto sighed and gave it one more try, again failing. Yukiko paid for one go. She put a little bit of chakra into her index finger and touched the film. The man was shaking his head.

"That's a ninja technique, sorry but-"

"It's a ninja technique, but it's just testing to see what it's strain threshold is, not altering it in any way."

The man thought about this for a moment.

"Well, if it didn't alter it, I guess testing it is fine. However, I would like to see it before you use it to make sure."

"That's fine."

Yukiko handed it back to the man, who pressed his finger into it, breaking through it.

"It seems you were telling the truth. I assume you want to do it to the next one too?"

"If possible, yes."

"Ok. Here's another."

"Arigato."

Yukiko tested it again, before lowering it into the water. She slowly brought it up and pulled it to the surface of the water so that the fish was only half out of the water. She left it there for about a minute until she pulled it out of the water. The fish was not flailing but it was still alive. The owner looked suspiciously at her.

"Did you-"

Yukiko just shook her head.

"I'm a medic. The first few stages of medical training involve treating animals, so I know a little bit about animal physiology. I found out during my studies that if a fish is taken out of the water very slowly, it doesn't realise it's in only air until it's practically dead. So therefore, I'm not cheating."

The owner sighed. He looked to the small crowd that had gathered.

"Can anyone confirm that?"

A man spoke up.

"I'm a vetinarian. What the young lady said is true."

"I see. Very well then, here's your prize. Have a good evening you two."

"Thank you."

With that, the two walked off with their plush doll. Next they stopped at a food stall. They decided to buy two trays of dango. They walked down the stalls happily eating and chatting. Yukiko saw a store that caught her eye. She put a hand on Naruto's bicep, catching his attention. Yukiko pointed to a stall that said 'Shuriken Throwing: Ninja Only.' Naruto's eyes lit up and they walked in. The man running the store smiled and greeted them.

"Good evening to you two. Would you like to have a go?"

"Sure. One question though, are we allowed to use techniques?"

"Techniques? No, I don't want my store burnt down thanks."

"Not even jutsus related to shuriken?"

"Are there any?"

Naruto nodded. The man scratched his chin.

"Well, I guess you could use one that was related to shuriken."

Yukiko smiled.

"What are the rules?"

"Well, there are nine targets. You get nine shuriken. If you hit all of them, you get a prize."

"What if we hit all of them throwing only one shuriken?"

"It's physically impossible."

"Hypothetically speaking."

"Hypothetically, I would have to give you your money back and a prize each I guess..."

"Heh, pass me a shuriken then."

The man handed him a shuriken. Naruto gave a flick of his wrist and formed a series of hand seals and announced his technique.

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!"

The single shuriken multiplied by nine, all of them landing square in the bullseye. The man just stared.

"What kind of a technique was THAT? Are they fakes?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Go up and touch them if you need proof."

The man did so, finding that they were indeed made out of metal. He shook his head in disbelief.

"I knew I shouldn't have allowed techniques..."

Naruto smiled.

"Don't worry. Very few ninja know that technique, as it's considered a forbidden jutsu. Pretty much only Kages or Sannin know it."

The old man brightened up.

"Thank Kami-Sama for that. Well, I guess you did hit them all throwing only one shuriken, so here's your money back, and the two of you pick a prize."

Naruto looked over the walls. He spotted a red fox, and pointed to it.

"Could I get that fox please mister?"

"Sure thing."

The man picked it off the wall and handed it to him. Naruto smiled.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now, what would you like, young lady?"

Yukiko had her eyes on a black cat with green eyes. She pointed to it.

"Could I get that cat please? The one with the green eyes."

"Certainly."

The man picked the cat off the wall and handed it to Yukiko. They thanked the man again and walked out. The man was still shaking his head in disbelief.

"Those two kids are really strong..."

Naruto and Yukiko kept walking. They saw a mask shop and looked at each other before shrugging. They both went up and bought a mask. Naruto bought a fox mask, while Yukiko bought a cat mask. (Typical huh?) Naruto started walking off when he tripped over a stone. He fell flat on his face, several things from Jiraiya's bag fell out. Yukiko bent down to help Naruto up.

"Naruto-Kun, you probably shouldn't try walking with that mask on, you'll trip."

Naruto smiled sheepishly at Yukiko before he noticed a little book on the ground. He bent down and picked it up.

"Ero-Sennin's bank book..."

"Naruto-Kun, you shouldn't look at other people's private things."

"Eh, one look couldn't..."

Naruto stopped and went fish-eyed.

"Is something wrong, Naruto-Kun?"

"Ze... Zeros! And lots of them!"

Naruto held out the bank book for Yukiko to look at. Yukiko took on a similar look to Naruto.

"He had all that money and he only gave us 3000 Yen?"

"That stingy bastard!"

Naruto looked down at his remaining money.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan?"

"Hai, Naruto-Kun?"

"How much money do you have left?"

Yukiko checked her also severely depleted money stores.

"About 20 Yen. What about you?"

"20 as well."

They both sighed. They took a look around. They had come to the end of the line of stalls so they took a look at the last few. They both decided to go to a store selling grilled squid. They walked up and Naruto smiled at the stall owner.

"Could I get this type of squid cut in pieces?"

"And could I get one of them also please?"

"Yeah! I'll give both of you a really good one. Tell you what! I'll give you both a second one free of charge!"

"Really? You're cool mister, my type of guy!"

"Arigato!"

Naruto looked over before picking one that interested him.

"Could I get that one as well please?"

"Sure thing! And for the young lady?"

Yukiko pointed the one next to the one Naruto had picked.

"Could I get that one please?"

"Ok, Two adult squid and two medium squid! Have a good evening!"

"Arigato!"

"Good bye!"

With that, the pair walked off, their money spent. They were about to go look for Jiraiya when they heard his laughter coming from a building nearby.

"That's Ero-Sennin's voice."

"Let's go, Naruto-Kun."

They stepped into the building to find Jiraiya on a couch with two ladies in relatively skimpy clothing. Naruto sighed and Yukiko growled, catching Jiraiya's attention.

"Oh, Naruto, Yukiko. How was the festival?"

Naruto spotted his now completely deflated Gama-Chan on the bench. Yukiko noticed her wallet was looking rather empty too. Naruto exploded.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THE POINT OF TELLING US THE THREE SINS OF A SHINOBI!"

"ESPECIALLY IF YOU BREAK ALL THREE OF THEM IN ONE GO!"

Jiraiya tried to calm the two seething kids down.

"Wait... I can explain... It's just a misunderstanding..."

Suddenly, one of Naruto's grilled squid slipped out of his hand. It sailed through the air in slow motion, before hitting a man's jacket, leaving a mark there. The man's companion started shouting.

"Look what you did you stupid brat! You put a stain on Akoki's designer suit! An expensive type of clothing! You better compensate for this! Give me 11 million Yen for it!"

"11 Million for that tacky piece of crap? I'm not going to pay that kind of money to the likes of you."

"What did you say you bastard! You better pay up if you want to live! Akoki is a former Chunin of the Stone Village. He's a legendary Yami-Nin and someone to be afraid of! An incredibly skilled ninja!"

Akoki charged at Naruto yelling at him.

"I'll show you what pain really is!"

Naruto just sighed and charged up a Rasengan. Akoki tried to slow down, but he was far too late, as Naruto shoved the Rasengan into his stomach. Akoki and his accomplice went flying out of the building and into the wall on the opposite side of the street. Naruto walked out, followerd by Jiraiya and Yukiko. They smiled at Naruto who smirked at the 'ledgendary' ninja who was on the ground, unable to get up.

"Just... What did you do?"

"I woke you guys up from the dream that you are a legendary anything. You said you were a Chunin? I highly doubt that. I was promoted to Chunin the same year I graduated from the Academy, and I kicked your asses with one move."

Naruto turned back to Jiraiya.

"Well, what are we going to do now, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya sighed.

"I say we go turn in for the night, and tomorrow morning we train."

Yukiko and Naruto lept into the air.

"YATTA!"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The Next Morning, at the Inn:**

Naruto woke up to the comfortable feeling of a sleeping Yukiko snuggled up in his arms, her head resting on is chest. Naruto just wanted to stay like this for a while, but he was interrupted by one very hung over Sannin.

"Oi, Naruto. Don't go back to sleep. We have training to do."

Naruto for once thought sleeping next to Yukiko took priority over training. He just felt so at ease next to her. Slowly, he started untangling himself from her arms, eliciting a groan from the sleeping Yukiko. Slowly, Yukiko stirred and opened her eyes. She smiled and kissed Naruto on the lip.

"Good morning, Naruto-Kun."

"Morning, Yukiko-Chan."

They started into each other's eyes, words were not needed to convey their feelings. Jiraiya interrupted their little moment.

"Come on you two, we're starting the training now."

Both of them slowly got up, showered and ate a quick breakfast before following Jiraiya into the woods. Jiraya figured they were far enough from civilization, he turned to his two students and decided what to teach them.

"Naruto, I've heard from Kakashi that you have a natural talent for fire jutsus."

Naruto looked kind of down upon hearing his former sensei's name. However, true to form, Naruto brightened up and smiled.

"Yup, I learnt Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu in two hours."

Jiraiya's eyes widened at this. Not believing him, Jiraiya wanted further proof.

"Let's see it then."

Naruto turned and faced into the forest, and went through the few hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

With said words, a giant fireball billowed out of Naruto's mouth, clearing a path 20 foot wide and 50 foot deep. Jiraiya whistled.

"That's good Naruto. I guess I could teach you some higher level Katon jutsus."

Naruto jumped up in the air and pumped his fist. Jiraiya ignored Naruto's antics and turned to Yukiko.

"I think I can start you off on some Suiton techniques, and I know you'd prefer to learn Mokuton and Shiton (I assume this is the Japanese equivalent of 'Death Type/Release/Element', please correct me if I'm wrong) type techniques, but to tell you the truth, the only man who could teach you Wood Type techniques has been dead for well over 30 years(not sure of the D.O.D of the first Hokage, again please correct me if possible), and to my knowledge, you're the only one to ever use death type techniques. Sure, Orochimaru uses similar types of techniques, but they are not considered Shiton techniques, so you'll have to work with Nibi on that one. However, I still think you would do well with Suiton techniques. Rest assured that by the time I'm finished with the two of you, you'll know practically every single technique I know, starting with the elemental techniques."

Both of his students gawked at the prospect. They'd know almost every single technique a Sannin knows? They would be really powerful by the end of this, that much was certain. Jiraiya interrupted their line of thoughts.

"Unfortunately, I cannot teach you any of the frog related techniques Unfortunately, as humans can only sign the contract to one type of animal, and since you two have already signed a contract, you cannot be taught the frog techniques, however, due to the fact that you are both demon containers for two of the most powerful demons known in existance, you should be able to work with your tenants to create your own unique jutsus that you and you alone can use. However, I have one strict condition that will not be broken under any circumstances unless one of us is about to die. That condition is that I must always be present when you attempt to communicate with your tenants to commence such training-"

"Uh, Ero-Sennin…"

"What is it, Naruto? This is important."

"It's just that Yukiko-Chan and I have been talking to our tenants for a while now. Yukiko-Chan has been talking to Nibi since her 12th birthday, and I've been talking to Kyubi since pretty much the day after I found out about him, which was several weeks after Yukiko-Chan started communicating with Nibi-"

Jiraiya was shocked.

'_This could be bad. Very bad. I need to find out more…'_

"You two, do you realise that you're consorting with two of the most powerful demons in existence? You may be too young to realise what demons are capable of, but they are known for betrayal, deceit, destruction-"

"Ero-Sennin, Kyubi resents that."

"Sorry Jiraiya-Sensei, but so does Nibi."

"What?"

"They see though our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our noses, and fell with our skin. After a while of being our tenants, they realised that if we were to be harmed in any way by their 'deceit' they would feel our guilt as if it were their own."

Naruto continued on.

"Also, they realised that if we die, so do they. So they quickly figured out that anything they say that could get us in serious danger, they will pay with their own lives. We kind of formed a… bond with our demons. Not only did our tenants form a bond with us, they told us that they were actually… Mates…"

Jiraiya didn't know what to say. This was almost too much to take in at one time. He asked the two questions he was dreading to ask the most.

"How often do they talk to you and what about?"

Naruto pondered for a moment.

"Well, Kyubi gave me the talk on the birds and the bees-"

"Jiraiya almost had a heart attack.

"WHAT!"

"Well, initially, part of the reason Yukiko-Chan and I got together was the fact that our tenants pushed us into it."

Jiraiya groaned again, coming to the most logical conclusion.

"So your feelings for each other are generated purely by Kyubi and Nibi?"

The other two looked in horror first at Jiraiya, then at each other.

'_**Don't you DARE believe a word of what that perverted Sennin just said, kit! We NEVER used any form of manipulation on either of you! Sure, we tried to use words to act as a catalyst to speed up the relationship, however your feelings for her are and always have been purely YOUR OWN! I give you my word on my life that what I'm saying is true!'**_

'_You damn well better be telling the truth, or I'm going to have your hide!'_

'_**Kit, to a demon, nothing is more important than his life. To use that to convince someone could NEVER be risked if they were bluffing, their life is too much to throw away like that. Ask 'Ero-Sennin' if you don't believe me.'**_

'_That's fine, I believe you.'_

Unknown to both Kyubi and Naruto, Nibi and Yukiko were going through a remarkably similar internal conversation. Jiraiya watched in amazement at the ease the two obviously conversed with their demons. He watched the horror turn quickly to anger, which was then directed at him. Jiraiya sweat dropped and smiled uneasily.

"Is something wrong, you two?"

"Oh, something's wrong alright."

This came from Naruto. Yukiko finished up the sentence for him.

"What's wrong is that you made us doubt our love for each other. Nibi swore on her life that they only used words to speed up the time it took to create a relationship. However, they both realised if they pushed any harder, we would probably break up so they backed off, content that we were boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Kyubi said the same thing and also swore on his life. That's good enough for me. I know Kyubi would not lie to me about something so important, as it would ruin the chances to be with Nibi again."

Yukiko now smiled at Jiraiya with a fake smile that barely hid her emotions and replied with a sickeningly sweet tone of voice that was far too sweet for his liking.

"Jiriaya-Sensei, I would like to warn you that if you ever do something like that again, I will hurt you severely, most likely in that area between your legs."

For Yukiko to use such a threat, he knew he'd just committed one of the worst taboos he possibly could. He started shaking his hands in front of him and began sweating profusely.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry, it was just that was the most logical conclusion I came to, as all the evidence pointed to it. I won't mention it again."

They both smiled sadistically. Naruto replied for them.

"Good. Now, what were you saying about us not being able to converse with our tenants without your presence?"

Jiraiya got a second sweat drop on the back of his head.

"Forget I said that…"

"Excellent. Now, you were also saying that you couldn't teach us the frog based techniques you use, because it requires a contract with the frogs. You said that we could however converse with our tenants and create our own version of your techniques that you gained from signing the contract of the frogs. What exactly did you mean by that?"

Jiraiya was relieved from being under the spotlight for the moment.

'_These two can be scary at times…'_

"Well, for example, I can summon the stomach of a toad and use it for several purposes."

"Such as?"

"Well, I can summon the stomach to use as a barrier against extremely powerful techniques. I can also use it to capture people to keep them from escaping. Those are the two main uses of it."

Yukiko didn't exactly like the idea of summoning parts of Nibi out into the open. Naruto was thinking along the same lines. Jiraiya sensed this and chuckled.

"Well, I didn't explicitly mean parts of the body, it was just an example. For example, Naruto, you might be able to create an entirely new jutsu that utilises the demonic gates and uses the charka tails to launch one of the Kyubi's most feared attacks, the Fox Fire technique."

Naruto sought out Kyubi in the back of his mind for an explanation.

'_**Basically, Fox Fire is an extremely powerful, if not THE most powerful Katon type technique in existence. To explain it, I launch a fireball from each of my nine tails. One of them was enough to decimate a small village.'**_

'_WHAT! That's insane!'_

'_**Kit, if I could cleave an entire mountain in two with a flick of a tail, is it really that hard to believe?'**_

'_I guess not… So, could you teach me it?'_

The fox gave a sly grin.

'_**Very well kit, however I refuse to teach you while you're near anyone. It will not be as powerful as the original by a long shot, however, the fact that people will see the technique actually being cast will probably do a fair bit of damage psychologically, let alone the physical damage especially if used on a shinobi from Konoha, not that you would…'**_

'_Damn straight. Could you give me an estimate as to its power if used with the first demonic gate?'_

The Kyubi looked thoughtful for a moment.

'_**Truthfully, I can't say give you an exact answer. However, my guess is that if you were to use it with just the first gate, it could probably clear a few hundred meters square of forest.'**_

Naruto looked gob smacked.

'_A FEW HUNDRED SQUARE METERS!'_

'_**Kit, I really suggest you have you hearing checked. You seem to be mishearing things I say more and more. Kit, I am the KING of demons. Do you think I could maintain that position with some half arsed techniques? I held that position for millennia for a reason. I thought we got over this doubting crap?'**_

'_You're right, sorry Kyubi.'_

'_**Don't worry, kit. However, since I will in effect be teaching you, you will refer to me as Kyubi-Sensei.'**_

'_Fat chance. I'm not giving you that kind of respect, because you get off on that kind of thing.'_

'_**You want to learn this technique or not?'**_

'_You want to be completely shut off from the outside world? I can arrange that you know.'_

Kyubi just roared with laughter.

'_**Kit, I hate to admit it, but I think I'm starting to respect you. You have the guts and the cunningness to be a demon, and a good one at that. Fine, you have yourself a deal.'**_

'_That's what I want to hear. I knew you'd see things my way.'_

Kyubi just snickered. Jiraiya wondered what was with the expression on Naruto's face. He looked… Pleased? Jiraiya gave Naruto a questioning look.

"Eh, I just had a little… argument with Kyubi."

"What about?"

"He said that since he will be teaching me techniques, I had to call him Kyubi-Sensei."

Jiraiya didn't like where this was going. Not one bit. Naruto continued.

"I basically said it wasn't going to happen. He then tried to lure me in with the promise of a very powerful technique. I responded that he would either teach me it or I would lock him up so he has no interaction with the outside world. He said then that I'd make a good demon because I was cunning and had the guts to be one, so he was starting to respect me."

Jiraiya looked more confused than ever.

"He gave in that easily?"

"Threatening to take away his only interaction with the outside world, however minor it may be is not something I think anyone would like. How would you feel if all you could see, hear, feel, smell and taste were the four walls of pure blackness? I sure as hell wouldn't like it."

Jiraiya now saw why the Kyubi had taken the threat so seriously.

"So if you had of locked him up like that, he also couldn't heal you or lend you his chakra and therefore if you died, it would kill him."

"Yup."

Jiraiya shook his head. That was a serious threat indeed. It was an indirect death threat. Jiraiya could see why Kyubi was beginning to respect Naruto. He decided to alter his planned training schedule for Naruto.

"Ok, Naruto for you, I'm going to work you up to be able to learn fox fire. There are three fire techniques between Goukakyuu no Jutsu and Fox Fire. Each takes more and more control and chakra to use than the last."

"What are they?"

"The first is Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu. Your friend Uchiha Sasuke can use it. It is essentially a shield of fire that projects a small stream of very powerful fire in one direction. The next level up is Katon: Karyuu Endan. It sends a stream of fire in the shape of a dragon at your opponent. The last stage, however, is a bit different. It combines a Doton type technique with a Katon type technique to produce some rather powerful effects. Firstly, the caster uses Doton: Doryuudan to fire earth missiles at the opponent. However, the user then doubles up with a fire technique called Katon: Karyuudan which sends a stream of fire so hot, it turns the earth missiles into flaming pieces of molten earth that not only puncture the enemies' body, but burn them severely as well. There is one slight problem with this though Naruto."

"Is that you expect me to learn almost the best Doton technique without learning it's predecessors?"

"Correct. Don't let this go to you head, but if you somehow manage to do it, I will have no doubts about your potential to be at least _'WOOT WOOT! That was my 100000th word! YATTA!'_ Sannin level technique and intelligence wise by the time I'm done with you. Once you have mastered those four techniques, I will allow you to learn Fox Fire from your tenant."

"I guess this is kind of like an extended version of the three stages of the Rasengan, eh Ero-Sennin? I can't do the last stage without completing the ones before it? Fair enough."

Jiraiya was getting more and more impressed with the boy's maturity and analytical skills. Not only that, but from what he had heard about Naruto before he learnt the truth of what he really was, he would have argued until he was allowed to learn the highest level technique right off the bat.

"That's right Naruto. Yukiko, I'll quickly go over the basics of Ryuuka no Jutsu with Naruto, then I'll start teaching you a Suiton technique. By the way, I assume you've been conferring with Nibi on your own personalised attacks?"

Yukiko smiled and nodded.

"Nibi said she would teach me the first stage of a jutsu called acid bomb technique."

"Care to explain?"

"It's name pretty much state's it's appearance, however saying it is corrosive is an understatement. I believe the easiest way to understand it's appearance and effects is a mix between Gamabunta's Water Cannonball and Kitsuii's (The Queen of the Slugs) Acid of 1000 Fangs."

"So it has the corrosiveness of Kitsuii's Acid techniques, with the velocity and precision of Gamabunta's Water Cannonball? That sounds like a nasty combination."

"Nibi says there's another stage to it, but I have to learn to master the first part before she'll teach me the next part."

"I see."

Jiraiya made alterations to his training schedule for Yukiko and got up. He walked away motioning for Naruto to follow. Naruto gave Yukiko a quick kiss and a hug before running off after Jiraiya. After about 20 meters, Jiraiya stopped and began teaching Naruto the jutsu.

"Ok, the hand seals are Hebi, Ryu, Usagi and Tora. Basically, you should start trying to channel the chakra out of your mouth and focus it to the point it combusts. Oh and don't worry, the hand seals will do most of the work for you, but that still means you have to focus a lot of your chakra to help with the process. Once that's done, try and focus the fire around your body to be directed into one wave of concerntraited fire directed in front of you. Also, the longer you want the jutsu to stay acticve, the more chakra you have to pump out of your mouth and combust, so you can probably tell it'll drain even the strongest ninjas if they use it for any length of time. Well, I guess I can show you how it looks in practice. You might want to step back a bit though."

Naruto did as he was told, activating his seal eye to aid him in understanding how the hand seals moulded the chakra and the basic principles of the jutsu. Jiraiya went through the hand seals and announced the technique.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

Naruto saw the hand seals moulding the chakra to be directed to his mouth and focused them to the point of combustion. Naruto now knew why Jiraiya stated this technique was difficult to maintain for long periods, as the chakra drainage for Jiraiya was noticable. Naruto watched as the waves of chakra combusted the moment they met the air outside of Jiraiya's mouth and they started to wind their way back around him before turning and flying past his head, merging and rocketing towards the closest tree. Whereas Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu would just destroy anything in its path, Ryuuka no Jutsu struck everything in its path and made a rather large hole in the trees it hit, before continueing on to the next tree. Naruto was amazed to see that the jutsu was only starting to dissipate after about 100 meters instead of the 50 or so that Naruto could manage with Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu. Naruto analized this and came up with a response.

"So while Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu is essentially a crowd pleaser, Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu is a sniping technique intended to be used on either a stationary single target or line of targets if you were feeling lucky."

"Exactly. Well, now that you've seen the technique, I'll leave you to it."

"Sure thing, Ero-Sennin."

Jiraiya left to the sounds of hand seals and a botched attempt at the technique. He sighed and went back to Yukiko who looked up at his arrvial.

"Yukiko, I'm also going to put you on a stage training regime where I'll start with a basic Muzu Bunshin. Muzu Bunshin is pretty much a weaker shadow clone made out of water. I'm starting you off on this because you already have a solid grasp on bunshins, meaning half the work is already done. After Muzu Bunshin, I will teach you Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu. This technique sends a large spinning pillar of water at the enemy. It has the ability to also flood an area. Naturally, this will drain a large amount of chakra. Next is a technique called Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu. We will have to use the river behind us to use that technique. What it does is channel massive amounts of water into the form of a dragon which you control with your chakra. The last of the regular techniques is a defensive technique called Suiton: Suijinheki. Basically this technique requires you to expell water from your mouth at an incredible rate and make it spiral around you, forming a shield that is very effective against most elemental attacks, especially fire ones. From there, One final technique, which I am unable to teach you, however I have a friend who can teach you it."

"A friend? Do you mean Gamabunta?"

"No, if I called him out to do that, he'd skin me for a new wallet. I was planning on using another frog. Which one, I'm not sure yet. However, I'm sure he will be much more willing to help than Gamabunta would be."

"Jiraiya-Sensei?"

"What is it Yukiko?"

"Do you really think it's a smart idea to teach us both several Kage level techniques so early?"

Jiraiya sighed. While he was proven correct that Naruto either didn't pick up on it or didn't care because he was happy to learn such powerful techniques, he was sure that Yukiko would definitely pick him up on it. He had prepared an answer just in case.

"While it is true that it will be risky teaching the both of you such powerful techniques, would you care to guess why I'm doing it?"

"Because you think we're capeable of learning them?"

"Exactly. I know from what Kakashi has told me that you are able to use Kage level techniques already, that would mean you will be more than capeable of learning these techniques to get to your special personalised technique. Sure it will take a while, but in the end it will be worth it. Now, let's get started on the Muzu Bunshin. Kage Bunshin had one hand seal, but Muzu Bunshin has none. I suggest you start out with a source of water close by. Only the Nidaime Hokage was able to use high level water jutsus without a source of water. I'd love to tell you how he did it, but that information was never passed on to my knowledge, so it lived and died with Nidaime. Anyway, the easiest way to teach you how to do it after giving you that explination would be to actually perform it. Watch."

Jiraiya walked onto the surface of the water and held up a hand in front of his chest with a single handed hand seal that looked like one half of the ram seal. Slowly, the water infront of him started churning and began to raise itself into a blob of water that roughly resembled a human. It quickly took shape and formed an exact copy of Jiraiya. Yukiko decided to activate her Bloodline Limit and discern the Muzu Bunshin's interior. She found it to be true that it was indeed made of nothing but water and chakra. She disengaged her Bloodline Limit and decided to give it a try. She began to concerntraite on pushing her chakra into the water and began to mould the water using her chakra into a bunshin. Slowly but surely, an exact copy of Yukiko appeared. It had taken about 2 minutes to form the bunshin from scratch, requiring all of Yukiko's concerntraition. Jiraiya was impressed that Yukiko had created a perfect Muzu Bunshin on her first try, reguardless of the fact it took two minutes to create it. He was just about to comment when he saw a rather bright reddish-orange light come from Naruto's direction.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

The light suddenly died down, but Jiraiya knew better than to think it was over. He braced for an incoming pillar of flame considering he was right in the path of where he had last seen Naruto facing.

_'Shit, I didn't think he'd be able to master it this quickly!'_

Jiraiya barely had time to duck as he saw the flame exit out of the last tree, shoot straight over his head and straight through Yukiko's Muzu Bunshin.

_'It's not a fully fledged Ryuuka no Jutsu based on the circumfrance of the flame pillar. Although with that said, he'll probably have it down by tomorrow evening.'_

Yukiko was marveling at her handiwork when she felt a searingly hot beam of fire wizz straight past her and pierced her Muzu Bunshin through the head. The Muzu Bunshin exploded upon impact and sent water flying everywhere, but it mainly covered Yukiko. Yukiko silently fumed as she stomped off to give Naruto a piece of her mind. Naruto had just recovered from expelling most of his chakra in that technique, when he heard a very familiar voice calling to him. Naruto was about to run forward until he heard her tone of voice.

"Naruto-Kun? Where are you?"

Naruto decided that it would be a good idea to run the other way and fast. However, Yukiko had been expecting this, and reappearedin front of him.

"Going somewhere, Naruto-Kun?"

Naruto knew he'd had it, so he just slumped in defeat. Yukiko smiled rather sadistically.

"Awwww, not going to put up a fight? I'm dissapointed, Naruto-Kun."

"Put up a fight? I said I would never harm you in any way!"

Yukiko was shocked that he thought she was going to hit him, but then again, her smile and voice kind of gave that impression.

"When did I say anything about hitting? I have far worse in mind for you, Uzumaki Naruto. Come with me. NOW."

Naruto didn't have a choice as he slowly shffled behind Yukiko who seemed quite happy with herself. Eventually they got to the river, and Yukiko pointed to the middle of it.

"Go on, off you go."

Naruto complied, shuffling into the middle of the river. He stood on top of the water, trying to figure out what her idea of punsihment would be. Yukiko started focusing and soon, water all around Naruto started forming Muzu Bunshins of Yukiko. They all grinned at Naruto as he wondered how on earth this was punishment.

_'This is punishment? I get to see the most beautiful face on the planet surround me? I don't get it...'_

_**'If this is going where I think it is kit, You'll see what she means by punishment.'**_

_'Huh, what are you talking about?'_

_**'I'm not going to say kit. You'll just have to find out yourself.'**_

_'Damn you...'_

_**'Enjoy, kit.'**_

Naruto snapped back to attention as the Muzu Bunshins started walking towards him. He was wary of them until they all suddenly mass glomped him. Naruto thought he was in heaven, with a nosebleed to prove it.

_'I could get used to this...'_

The demon fox just laughed, knowing what was going to happen next. Suddenly, Yukiko stopped concerntraiting and the Muzu Bunshins suddenly turned back to water, completely saturating Naruto. Yukiko and Jiraiya just burst out laughing at Naruto's downcast looking face.

"It's not funny! It was like a dream come true! And then you had to wake me up! Don't EVER tease me like that again!"

Yukiko stopped her giggling fit just long enough to answer.

"As you wish, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto just strode up to the real Yukiko and looked at her with mischif in his eyes.

"You are so going to pay for that."

"Oh? How do you plan on paying me back?"

"You'll see."

Naruto gave Jiraiya a look, and gave a 'shooing' motion with his hand. Jiraiya grumbled to himself and got up before walking away, muttering something about kids not showing respect to their senseis these days. Naruto just laughed as he heard this, before turning back to Yukiko. Yukiko raised an eyebrow quizically trying to figure out what Naruto had in store for her. He answered her thoughts.

"Since I can't have my fantasy, I'll have to settle for the real thing instead."

Yukiko's eyes widened.

_'He's not thinking about... THAT... is he?'_

_**'Relax, kitten. I sense his intentions to be pure. Thre are very few people who can fool a demon's senses, so there's no need to worry.'**_

_'Arigato, Nibi.'_

_**'Don't mention it kitten.'**_

Naruto just lowered himself to Yukiko's side and hugged her, placing his head in her chest, causing Yukiko to blush, but she just hugged him back, not wanting to break the moment. They both just lay there, not paying attention to the time. Suddenly, Naruto felt another presence watching them. He got up, eliciting a groan from Yukiko. Naruto looked around, although he already knew where the person was hiding. Quicikly, Naruto turned towards the familiar chakra source and went through some hand seals.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

Fire wrapped around Naruto before shooting off in the direction of the intruder. They both heard a yelp and Jiraiya jumped out from behind the tree. Yukiko suddenly grew very angry at the fact that Jiraiya had his 'research' notebook in his hand.

"Jiraiya-Sensei? We're you using us for your 'research'?"

Jiraiya immediately sweat dropped.

"Well, uh, you see.."

Naruto and Yukiko had had enough and they lunged at him, tackling him to the ground.

BANG! POW!

Jiraiya now had two very large lumps on his head. He looked up to see Naruto and Yukiko glaring at him. He smiled weakly and tried to get up, however Naruto and Yukiko forced him back down.

"Let's get one thing straight, Ero-Sennin. If you EVER use Yukiko-Chan or myself for your damn perverted books, I will make sure you'll never want to write another one got it?"

Jiraiya nodded weakly, however, Naruto still wasn't satisfied. He pointed to the notes.

"Hand them over."

Jiraiya tried to protect his notes, however Naruto ripped them out of his hands and passed them to Yukiko, who understood what Naruto wanted. Yukiko created a Muzu Bunshin and handed the notes to it. The Muzu Bunshin nodded to Naruto, who went through a quick set of hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Jiraiya stared in horror as the giant fireball blossomed towards the Muzu Bunshin, destroying the bunshin and Jiraiya's notes. Jiraiya fell to his knees.

"I spent two months writing those notes! How could you be so cruel?"

"Cruel? You wanted to use what would undoubtably be considered an underage relationship in your book, twisting our relationship into something completely and utterly perverted, didn't you? And you call US cruel? Jiraiya, I've lost all respect for you as a man and our sensei."

Jiraiya slumped. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and that he had indeed intended to use them in his next book, however he had intended for a change to keep their relationship as pure as it is in real life, though he doubted they would believe him. He decided to call it a day.

"Alright you two, I say we call it a day. You two have progressed at an alarming rate, so I think you should be able to master your tenants techniques within about a month."

They both follwed Jiraiya who was well aware of the fact their eyes were boreing into his back. He shrugged it off and returned to the inn in town.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** There goes another one. Man, if this keeps up, I might have to relabel Naruto and Yukiko the Ecchi Busters. First Kakashi and now Jiraiya? I'm so evil... Anyways, if you think Fox Fire is too strong a technique, just remember that through out the anime and manga, Kyubi was known to flick a tail and cleave a mountain in two or cause a tsunami. No chakra, no techniques, no nothing. Now, if that's the case, want to try imagining what one of his most powerful techniques could do? I'd say I'm actually toning it down quite considerably. Until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	18. First Real Birthday

**A/N:** Yo! I haven't updated in a few days because basically I'm running out of inspiration, so I went looking at some other Naruto fics on the net. Unfortunately, I didn't get many ideas although I spent pretty much 17 hours + a day looking up other fics. Most of them seem way too far fetched to even consider, but some of them still had good ideas even though their story lines took rather large steps into things that not only wouldn't happen in the Naruto universe, but shouldn't happen (prolly because their ideas took away some of the luster that makes the original Naruto universe so special.) I saw one that hinted at Naruto learning to form a Rasengan on his elbow, which was... amusing to say the least. I took that idea a step further in my mind and combined that idea with the idea from another fic where Naruto could launch a hand created Rasengan about 100 feet away from him, coming up with the idea of a 'Rasengan Cannon' where Naruto bends his arm back so that his forearm is sitting on his bicep and he forms a Rasengan on his elbow and then fires it into the target, making it explode on impact. I found it an amusing idea, however that would not suit Naruto in my fic as in my fic, he does not have the ability to expel chakra from anywhere but his hands and feet like any normal ninja. If he had been born a Hyuuga, however, I might have entertained the possibility, however that is not the case, so I don't think I'll use it. I might however, use it in a future story if I decide to do another one. I think I'll address some of the comments people have made in the reviews:

**Dragon Noir:** Yay! Annother that agrees that 101 is the funniest. Anyways, what you guessed about the length of the trip is right. You'll see how it plays out when the time comes.

**Mastershake89:** Thank you for the offer, however I have a rather... unusual phobia about other people seeing my work before it's complete. I guess I should explain. All though out my years in primary school, we were forced to find someone in our class that would check our work and we would theirs. However, I was relativly... hated... to put it during my school years, and people always enjoyed messing with my work and made me get way lower marks than I should, technically have been top of the class in just about everything, however my 'marks' stated that I was around the middle. Why was I hated you say? Basically, I have three disabilities, none of which I'm going to disclose here, but lets just say they made me completely anti social through no fault of my own and people quickly began distancing themselves from me. One of my disabilites made me unable to respond to body language except in the most extreme cases, such as someone throwing a punch at me. If you are having a hard time imagining this, try thinking Squall from Final Fantasy 8 during the beginning of the game. That's almost EXACTLY what I behaved like, because I knew no other way. All the responses to social situations that you take for granted and do without thinking I have no idea even exist. So I basically have a very easy time identifying with people like Squall and Naruto. Anyways, enough about my past, I'd rather not relive it. So the answer would have to be no. I'm sure you're a great guy and would do nothing of the sort to my work, however, having it done to me almost every time for 6 years kinda ingrained itself into me. And for the love of god don't give me your sympathy. I've lived a tough life in some aspects, but I've also had a relatively good life in others. Not usual for me to act like this, but you struck somewhat of a nerve. Sorry for acting like this, but I get very volatile when I have to bring up my past.

**Saiyan Prince 1:** I now see what you mean. In my mind, Naruto had only recovered about 60 percent of Kyubi's chakra (Kyubi's complete chakra reserves) before the fight. During the fight however, he used up about 50ish percent of that 60 to fight Gaara and summon Kyubi, meaning he had about 10 percent left, making him roughly equal in power with Shukaku. I hope this answers your question.

**Demonmonkeytrainer:** You have a point, some of the villagers would decide that was the case, however, as I stated in the last chapter Naruto and Yukiko were in Konoha, the majority of the people were still giving him the oh so familiar 'cold stares' but, a small percentage of them had decided that Naruto does not equal Kyubi. Those are the people who saw past their unreasonable hatred, and had not gone so far down the path of believeing the propaganda spread by the rest of them that they could actually see that Naruto was in full control of Kyubi.

**Dobe-Teme:** Lol, great name btw. Anyways, thank you for the corrections on Mizu Bunshin and the Shodaime's approximate date of death. I can understand your desire to see Hinata matched up with someone like Shino. Before I discovered the wonders of NaruxOC (which there is an unfortunate lack of), NaruxHina fics were also my favorite ones. I can't make any garantees, however, I'll see to it that Hinata gets matched up with someone deserving. And I am DEFINATELY not hooking her up with Kiba. She deserves way better than him. By the time Naruto and Yukiko get back from their 4 years of training practically everyone will have paired off.

**Sannin of the Black Chaos:** Um, I don't know what made you think I have a Japanese to English translator, but I actually asked anyone if they had one they could direct me to a few chapters ago. The Japanese I've picked up is from my four years of Japanese lessons in high school (which accounts for practically none of it) and the rest I've picked up from years of watching anime and reading manga. If it's the name of techniques that already exist that you're looking for, I can direct you to a few sites that have nearly every jutsu in the series, however, beyond that, I'm afraid I can't help. Sorry about that...

The Rokudaime quote for the chapter (this one isn't as funny as it is wierd) **SASUKE:** BUNNIES!claps hands and chases bunnyYAYAYAY!

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 16:

First Real Birthday:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Two Months Later, on October 10th:**

Naruto and Yukiko had both been training in their own elemental techniques with the scant supervision of Jiraiya. Most of the time, he'd only show up to either teach them the next jutsu after they mastered the last one, or on the very odd occasion, he'd just sit and watch them. However, today was a special day. Jiraiya had decided to let them both have the day off, knowing that this was their birthday. However, Jiraiya was slightly curious as to why they were so downcast.

"Oi, you two. Why are you moping around like this? It's your birthday, possibly the happiest day of the year for most people."

Yukiko and Naruto fell to the floor. Yukiko hugged her knees to her chest and Naruto fell onto his hands and knees. Jiraiya looked back at this and knew he'd stuck a nerve, and a deep one at that. Naruto answered for the pair.

"Ero-Sennin... What day is it today?"

"Your birthday?"

"I meant the date..."

Jiraiya was starting to get an idea as to why these two acted like this.

"October 10th?"

"And what happened on this day 13 years ago in Konoha and Snow?"

Jiraiya could now see the reason.

_'How could I not see where this was going?'_

"The day Kyubi and Nibi attacked..."

"Yeah... And care to have a guess as to what the villagers liked to do on those days?"

"Mourn the loss of the Yondaime and The Yakushi clan?"

"Hardly. They took all their anger out on us. We were lucky to live through 12 lots of riots and assasination attempts. Most of the time, they spared our homes, but sometimes they got so worked up they burnt them and our belongings. I'm not sure about Yukiko-Chan, but my appartment was burnt twice."

Jiraiya was appauled. Not just at how careless he had been, but also at the Leaf and the Snow. Jiraiya was definitely going to have a talk with Sarutobi when he got back. For now, he had decided to put his plans into action.

"Well you two, you're in luck I may not be throwing a proper birthday party for the two of you and inviting all of your friends, but I have ideas on what to do. Both of you meet me at this address tonight."

Jiriaya handed Naruto a piece of paper. It had an address scrawled on it in black ink. Naruto folded the piece of paper and put it into his pants pocket. He turned back to Jiraiya.

"Both of you have the day off. Forget about the past, try to enjoy yourselves. Once we meet at that address, I'll explain my ideas to you."

"It better not be anything perverted, Ero-Sennin."

Jiraiya slumped.

"I'm not always a pervert, Naruto."

"Your actions seem to say otherwise."

"Just turn up to that address at 7 pm tonight. You'll need to identify yourselves, however, I've already taken care of that. Just introduce yourselves as who you are and they'll let you in."

Naruto was wondering what Jiriaya had meant by this, however Jiriaya had already gotten up and was walking out the door. Naruto decided to take the pervert's advice and try to enjoy himself. Taking Yukiko's arm, he smiled at her and recivied a smile in return. They both walked out into the town and started to try enjoying themselves.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**That Night at 7 pm:**

Naruto and Yukiko had enjoyed their day immensly. They had both started by going to a dango store, surprised to see that the owner was delighted to hear it was their birthday, and even more surprised he had given them the food for half price. Still in shock, they walked around town going to stores and getting simmilar treatment as they had with the dango store owner. An hour and a half before they were due at the address Jiraiya had given them, they decided to try their luck going to the local hot springs. Again they were gob smacked that the woman behind the desk had just smiled and given them both sole access to the hotsprings for an hour with a 25 percent discount. Once their hour was up, they got out and started walking to where Jiraiya was waiting for them. They were both daised at this treatment they got, as they were both used to the exact opposite. Once they reached the address Jiraiya had given them, they stopped and stared at the place then at each other. Naruto pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket, read and then reread the address.

"No doubt about it. This is the place..."

"But... This is possibly the most expensive resteraunt in town! What could Jiraiya be thinking?"

They both slowly walked up to the man at the door. He looked at them in casual interest.

"Names please?"

Naruto spoke up.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Yakushi Yukiko."

The man brightened noticably.

"Ah, we've been expecting both of you, Naruto-San, Yukiko-San. Jiraiya-Dono is a good friend of the owner of this restraunt. Please, step inside. I will have a waiter take you to your table."

The bouncer opened the door and held it open for them. They both walked in uncertainly, thinking this had to be some cruel trick. As the bouncer had said, a waiter was waiting for them at the front desk in front of a long line of people. However he spotted them at the end of the line and apporached them.

"Naruto-San and Yukiko-San, I presume? Jiriaya-Dono has been expecting you. Please come with me."

They both nodded, choosing to ignore the slightly pissed off looks the people waiting in line had given them. The waiter opened the doors leading into the restraunt, leaving Naruto and Yukiko very nervous. The waiter noticed this and stopped.

"Is something the matter, Naruto-San, Yukiko-San?"

Yukiko manged to reply without letting their fears show too much.

"Well, we're not used to such... Treatment... Both of us would have never been allowed into such an establishment in our home towns..."

"If Jiraiya-Dono has requested your presence, I see no reason to give you the treatment you would have received in your home towns here. Now, if you would please follow me."

Naruto and Yukiko looked at each other in confusion, but they quickly caught up with the waiter. Both of them were now glad they had taken a trip to the hotsprings before coming here. The waiter went past the room full of tables and pushed open a door that had a very eligant gold plaque on the front that said 'VIP'. Inside was a much more lavishly decorated room than the rest of the restraunt. It had pure red carpet, obviously of high quality. The walls had strange red cushioning around the base of the walls, coming up to about the height of a tall man if he were to sit on a seat with his back against it. The rest of the walls were white. There was several pot plants in the corners. However, what they saw at the back of their room was what really caught their eyes. Jiriaya was sitting up against the wall on a very plush looking lounge that ran the length of three walls, and infront of him was a rather long table. On the table was an assortment of foods, both of which they had never even dreamed of being allowed near, let alone eat. Jiraiya looked up at the two of them and smiled.

"Well you two, I said not to worry about pulling anything perverted didn't I? Come on! Dig in!"

They both knew this was too good to be true. It had to be. Their warning senses were screaming at them to run, and both of them were about to do it when their tenants spoke up.

_**'I sense that the old pervert is sincere about everything he has said. It's ok, he's not like those bastards in the Leaf.'**_

_'Well if you say so...'_

_**'Trust me kit. Enjoy this while you can.'**_

Naruto was starting to cry, and Yukiko was as well. Jiraiya wondered what the hell he could have possibly done wrong before Naruto and Yukiko launched themselves at him and clung on.

"Thank you soooo much, Jiraiya-Sensei!"

"I love you, Ero-Sennin!"

Jiriaya was usually one to bulk at the prospect of a man telling him he loved him, however, he decided to put up with it, because Naruto had not meant it in that sense. He chukled and put his arms around the two.

"Well, this is what birthdays are about. Celebrating, and generally having a good time. I'm appauled that the Leaf and Snow didn't realise that you were both human beings and give you at least the decency of leaving you alone on your birthdays. However, let's put the past behind us and enjoy the present shall we? You only live once after all!"

With that said, the three took a plate and piled it with food, before looking at each other and nodding.

"ITADAKIMASU!"

The three of them ate to their heart's content, however shortly after starting, Jiraiya stopped them.

"I want the both of you to save some room for desert."

"Desert? You mean there's MORE!"

"Yep."

Naruto and Yukiko started eating again, making sure to keep enough room for desert. The waiter took the empty food platters back into the kitchen as they were finished with them. After about 15 minutes of eating, Naruto looked at Yukiko. She noticed he was looking at her and looked up from her plate.

"Is something wrong, Naruto-Kun?"

"I was just wondering if you were ready for desert. I am."

Yukiko put her now empty plate down on the table.

"I suppose I am too. Jiriaya-Sensei?"

"Ready are you? Well then, I guess it's time for the cake."

Jiriaya nodded at the waiter, who bowed before exiting the room. Shortly later, The door opened again and two men in white uniforms with a type of hat that Naruto had never seen before walked in. One was in front of a trolley, and the other was behind it. On the trolley, was a very large cake. Naruto, not having seen many cakes knew it was by far the largest one he'd ever seen. Yukiko was crying. Naruto put his arm around her.

"What's wrong, Yukiko-Chan?"

"Naruto-Kun... That's our birthday cake..."

Yukiko didn't need to say anymore. Naruto broke out in tears of pure uninhibited joy. The chefs looked worried but Jiraiya eased their tension.

"These two have never had a birthday party before, let alone a birthday cake. I suppose this is their way of dealing with it."

The chefs looked startled for a moment, before smiling. They brought the cake in and took it off the trolley and placed it on the table in front of Naruto and Yukiko. They both marveled at the cake. It was one of those tier cakes consisting of two tiers. The bottom one was a mixture of mainly white with green highlights, and gold coloured edges. The top layer was also white, however, it had red highlights with blue edges. They looked at the top and read the message that was written in duel red and green colours.

"**Happy 13th Birthday!"**

Naruto was about to reach out and start devouring it, but he was stopped by Yukiko. Naruto looked at Yukiko for an answer.

"There are certain... Customs that should be observed with birthday cakes. First the person who's birthday it is has to light the candles on top, then blow them out. There's an unofficial tradition that before you blow out the candles that if you make a wish and then blow out the candles in one breath, that wish will come true. Once that's done, they have to cut the cake..."

"Is there something you're not telling me Yukiko-Chan?"

"Well... It's kind of an unnofical tradition, but the person who cuts the cake has to kiss the nearest person of the opposite sex if the knife comes out dirty..."

Naruto grinned wickedly. Yukiko decided she didn't mind the fact that Naruto was going to try his hardest to make it come out dirty. The waiter handed a box of matches to Yukiko, who gave one to Naruto. They struck the matches on the side of the box and proceeded to light the thirteen candles on top of the cake. Naruto and Yukiko stood up and nodded to each other. They each closed their eyes and made their wish, before taking a deep breath and blowing the candles out in one go. They both gave a smile. The waiter came up to them with a rather large knife. They both took the knife, putting one hand over the top of each others and slowly cut the cake. Naruto slowly lifted the knife to find that it was completely clean. He looked defeated before Yukiko put a hand on his bicep making Naruto look up.

"It's dirty..."

Naruto looked for a second time at the knife to find that although the side of the knife he was closest to was clean, Yukiko's side had a few bits of cake on it. Naruto smiled and brought Yukiko into a passionate kiss. The kiss only lasted about 10 seconds, but it meant so much more to them than most people would recognise. They then turned back and cut out three large bits of cake. Once Jiraiya, Naruto and Yukiko had their pieces, they started eating. Once they had finished, Naruto started getting nervous.

"What's wrong, Naruto-Kun?"

"Um... I have a... Birthday present... For you..."

Yukiko looked at Naruto as he brought a neatly wrapped present from his pocket and handed it to Yukiko. Yukiko wish she had bought her present here, but she decided it could wait. She took the present gingerly from Naruto, looking for some sign that she could open it. Naruto just smiled and nodded. Yukiko unwrapped the present with trembling hands. She saw that inside was a jewlery box. She started getting a bit supsicious, but she decided to open it anyway. What she saw took her breath away. She slowly put it down and broke into a fresh round of tears. Naruto knew now he shouldn't have given it to her, but he was proven wrong when she jumped at him and kissed him so forcefully that he was forced to lay down on the seat. Naruto smiled and broke the kiss.

"So you like it?"

"No I don't like it."

Naruto was crestfallen.

"Like isn't a word that fits what I'm feeling. Nor does love. The feeling is something beyond pure joy. Naruto-Kun, I can't believe you repaired my family heirloom. I had forgotten about it. You have absolutely no idea how much this means to me. This... This is..."

Naruto just kissed her again.

"I think I know what you're feeling roughly. No need for words. Your actions tell me more than any words could."

"Naruto-Kun... I'm sorry... I don't have your present here..."

"That's ok. We'll sort it out later."

"Ok."

Naruto took the heirloom out of Yukiko's hands and placed it around her neck. They both smiled and went for a second bit of cake. Jiraiya smiled and helped himself to seconds. After both of them had finished their third piece, they were stuffed. They turned to Jiraiya signalling they were finished. Jiraiya turned to the waiter.

"Could I have a final word with Daichi-San, if possible? I'm sure these two would want to thank him for having their first birthday party."

"Of course, Jiraiya-Dono. I shall bring him in here."

"Thanks."

The waiter again bowed and left. After about a minute, the waiter returned with a very elegantly dressed man in his mid fourties. The man smiled.

"Ah, so you must be Jiraiya's apprentices. It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-San, Yukiko-San."

"Thank you very much for this. It means so much to us."

"I'm sure it would. Any friend of Jiraiya's is a friend of mine."

Yukiko was wondering for a while now how these two know each other.

"Um, excuse me Daichi-San, would you mind if I asked a question?"

"Certainly not. What would you like to know?"

"Ano, how do you know Jiraiya-Sensei?"

The man smiled.

"I've known Jiraiya for almost a decade now. When I was setting up this retraunt with a friend about nine and a half years ago, I was attacked by a group of thugs. I would have died and had my resturant ransacked, but Jiraiya appeared and saved me. As gratitude, I've given him free meals every time he's come to visit as a way of repaying him. When I heard about his two apprentices and how they'd never had a birthday before, I wanted to make it special. It's outrageous that a fine young pair of people like yourselves have had to go without a birthday. I will not pry into the reason why, as I can guess it would be painful to talk about, but the reason is irrelivant. From what Jiraiya has told me, you will be heading further out of the Fire Country soon. However, if you ever come back to these parts, please stop by."

"Thank you, Dachi-San. We will take you up on that offer."

Daichi just smiled.

"I wish you both a very happy birthday. Please have a wonderful evening."

With that, Daichi turned around and left the room. Jiraiya stood up and started walking for the door when he was stopped by Naruto's voice.

"Ano, Ero-Sennin... What are we going to do with the rest of the cake?"

Jiraiya turned back and smiled.

"Daichi rarely wastes food. I'm told he feeds his left over food to the homeless when ever he can. So that cake won't be wasted."

Naruto was now free of whatever guilt he had and took Yukiko's arm before following Jiraiya out the door and back to the inn.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Later That Night at the Inn:**

Once Naruto, Jiraiya and Yukiko had gotten back to the inn, Jiraiya had wished them good night and a happy birthday before turning in for the night. Yukiko suddenly remembered she still had to give her gift to Naruto. She walked into their room and told Naruto to sit on the floor with his eyes closed. Naruto did as he was told, while Yukiko went to her backpack and pulled out a box. She walked over to Naruto and gently placed the box in his hands.

"Naruto-Kun, it's ok to open your eyes now..."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the box. He smiled and began to slowly open the box. What he found inside brought a tear to his eye. He lifted out his present and looked at in in awe. It was a white trench coat, much like his own. It still had the kyubi embroyded on the front. However, it lacked his name on the other breast. On the back, there was a very beautifully crafted nine tailed golden kitsune. It was curled up so that it's tails were hiding most of its body, however, it's face appeared between a gap in it's tails, it's demonic red eyes staring at him through the gap. It also lacked the red flames licking the bottom of the coat. Naruto brought it down and placed it back in it's box. He looked up at Yukiko who had a smile on her face.

"Naruto-Kun, you seemed to have missed something in that box..."

Naruto once again looked into the box to see a pendant. He gently took it out of the box and looked at in awe. It was a high quality silver nine tailed kitsune, with a ruby for it's visable eye. He put it back in the box before tackling Yukiko to the floor and kissing her full on the lips. Yukiko gave a soft purr before Naruto pulled away. Naruto then put the pendant over his neck and decided to make a promise.

"Yukiko-Chan, I promise I will never remove this pendant. I will always wear it. That's my promise to you."

Yukiko smiled warmly and decided to return the promise.

"I also promise I'll never remove my heirloom, which you repaired. That's my promise to you, Naruto-Kun. Now, How about we both go to bed? I'm rather tired after today."

Yukiko got up and started walking towards the bedside table where they kept their clothes, with Naruto close behind. Yukiko took her night gown and walked into the bathroom. Naruto stripped off in the bedroom, and changed into a pair of boxers and a loose t-shirt. Once he finished, he looked at the ring and pendant with a mixture of emotions. After about three minutes, Yukiko came out of the bathroom, vacating it for Naruto to brush his teeth and whatever else he needed. When he got back out, Yukiko got into the bed, and moved over to make room for Naruto, who got in and snuggled up to her. They both quickly fell into a comfortable sleep, listening to the sound of each other's breaths.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**9 am the Next Morning:**

Jiraiya was the first to wake up, and set about cleaning up his room, as they were going to move onto the next town today. Once he had packed up, he was about to knock on Naruto and Yukiko's door when he heard stirring and muffled conversation from inside, so he left them too it. He went downstairs to pay for their time here and was content with waiting for his two charges to come downstairs so they could go. After about fifteen minutes, they both came down hand in hand. Jiraiya smiled and motioned them over to him. They both came over and listened to what he had to say.

"Ok you two, I know this might go against what you've been taught, especially you Naruto, but I need to you remove your forehead protectors."

"Nani? Why?"

"Basically, even though I can teach you a lot, I cannot teach you everything I want you to know by the end of these four years. In order to teach you everything I think you should know, we're going to have to become hidden nins, if only until we return to Konoha."

"Why would we have to become hidden nins, Jiraiya -Sensei? I thought hidden nins have no alegeance to anyone, so what would that gain us?"

"Well, I plan on taking us to not only every ninja village in the east bar one, but to every country in the west. If we ever want to turn up to most of the eleven villages in the east like rock, mist, grass, rain and cloud, we need to appear to be hidden nins. What do you think would happen if we turned up to say the Village of Rock with our Konoha forehead protectors on?"

Naruto realised where this was going.

"They'll kill us on sight."

"Exactly. Although I don't really want to do this, villages like the rock have a huge collection of Doton techniques that will be useful in some situations. I've thought about this long and hard, but this is the best way to do it that will allow us to use the majority of our techniques. However, there will be some restrictions that even being a hidden nin will not explain if used."

"Like Rasengan or Hiraishin no Jutsu, or your particular Kuchyose no Jutsu, because all of those techniques are known to be limited to Konoha royalty, and would never bee handed out to anyone..."

"Exactly. However, do you think that your choice of clothing will stand out a bit much? Trying to pass ourselves off as hidden nin will fail misserably if you wear that trench coat. I know how much it means to you, but if you wear it, you'll never be strong enough to defeat Akatsuki."

Naruto was obviously having a huge internal war. This was his heratige, however, if he embrased it for the next four years, he would be unable to become strong enough to defeat Akatsuki. Eventually, he slowly slipped the trench coat off and put it into his backpack. However, when Naruto opened his backpack, he remembered Yukiko's present. He smiled and switched his 'yellow flash' style coat with the kitsune coat. Jiraiya looked over the coat to make sure it was acceptable.

"I don't have a problem with you wearing that coat. It won't lead others to your connection to Arashi just by looking, unless they're very familiar with that section of Konoha's history, and even then, it will be highly unlikely to connect the fact that the coat was based on Arashi's one. Infact, it will lead them further off the trail since that coat has a hood. Your other one did not. Now, you two just have to remove your forehead protectors and use these ones."

Naruto and Yukiko removed their Konoha forehead protectors and looked at the two that Jiraiya had in his hands. They were almost exactly the same, however instead of a leaf symbol, they had a very unusual one. It was almost like a Sharingan eye of sorts, however, there were five of the little comma shapes instead of three just on the inside of a circle. Jiraiya had already taken off his usual forehead protector and put one like Naruto's and Yukiko's. Naruto brightened visably, and took Yukiko's arm following Jiraiya out the door and eventually out of the village.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Two Weeks Later, on the Outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village:**

Jiraiya had slowly been training Naruto and Yukiko to get a feel for their surroundings while they had their new forehead protectors covering their eyes at all times. Yukiko wasn't having nearly as much difficulty as Naruto was, due to her Bloodline Limit. Naruto was just starting to get the hang of it, although he still tripped sometimes. Once they reached the gates of the Hidden Mist Village, they were stopped by a guard.

"Names and reason for visiting please."

"Our names are not important. We are hidden nin seeking a place to rest and train."

The guard looked at them in confusion.

"Hidden nin? We haven't had a hidden nin pass through here in over three decades! However, from what I was told, that is certainly a hidden nin forehead protector. I'm sure Mizukage-Sama would want to see you straight away."

The guard turned to the gate house and called out.

"Hey, Kyo! We've got a trio of hidden nins here! Take them to Mizukage-Sama!"

"Sure thing!"

A man who was in his early twenties stepped out of the guard house and smiled. He beckoned them to follow, and turned towards the village.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Shortly After, in the Mizukage's Office:**

When Jiraiya, Naruto and Yukiko had entered the office, they saw a man in very simmilar robes to the Sandaime Hokage, however, the part of his hat that stated which country he was from was blue, not red. He looked up from his work when they walked in.

"Ah, so you're the three hidden nins I've heard about. This is my second time meeting a hidden nin. The first time I met one, I was only a Genin. Please, come in and have a seat."

They came in and took their seats, waiting for the Mizukage to speak again.

"Well, As you're hidden nins, I'm not supposed to ask your names, however, I will ask you your aliases."

Jiraiya had been expecting this and had prepared an alias for all three of them.

"I am known as White Knight. These are my two apprentices. To my left-"

Jiraiya indicated to Naruto.

"-Is Red Fang and to his left is Green Death."

The Mizukage looked at Naruto and Yukiko in interest.

"Red Fang and Green Death? They are some unusual aliases..."

Jiraiya smirked.

"When you see them fight, you'll find out why they're called that."

"I see. Well, I understand that you're here to train and rest. I have already instructed my personal assistant to allocate you some living quarters. He should be back soon. However, I would like to ask you that in return for the training you undertake in this village, that you undertake some missions for us. None of them will involve combat with other villages, as that would destroy your reputation as hidden nin, but they will contain a high degree of difficulty, none the less. Do you accept?"

"We do, Mizukage-Dono. Thank you for letting us stay here."

"It's a pleasure."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. The Mizukage turned his attention to the door and gave a fustraited sigh.

"Come in."

The door opened and a Jounin came in. He bowed formally to the trio and to the Mizukage before addressing them.

"Mizukage-Sama, I have been instructed by your assistant to tell the hidden nins that their appartment has been prepared. I am ready to escort them when you have finished with them."

"I see. We have just finished discussing things. Please guide them to their apparment."

"Hai!"

With that, the Mizukage shook Jiraiya's hand and watched them go. Just as they were about to get to the door, the Mizukage remembered something.

"Oh, and White Knight, please bring your two charges to this office tomorrow morning at 8 am. I will have an instructor ready for you to begin the training. Also, please report to me on a daily basis to let me know of your activities."

"Very well, Mizukage-Dono. Will there be anything else?"

"No that was all. Enjoy your stay in the Hidden Mist Village."

"Thank you, Mizukage-Dono."

With that, Jiraiya and his two apprentices filed out of the door and followed the Jounin to the appartment they had been assigned.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** I'm really sorry that this is such a short chapter everyone, but I had to cut it off there, as I would not be able to fit everything I wanted into one chapter without doing another juggernaught chapter, one that would possibly break my previous records. Anyways, I used an idea that Opposing Force originally came up with, namely the Hidden Nin idea. Sorry if I stole it, but the credit goes entirely to you. It was just perfect for my story, I hope you can understand. Until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	19. First Year, Part I

**A/N:** Hi everybody! I'm back and writing the next chapter. Thanks for your continuous reviews, they give me some inspiration to keep writing. Now, onto the comments:

**Kyubbi-Sama:** I was thinking of fusing the two of them with their demons, I don't intend to give them demonic weapons, because it doesn't suit my story line. However, thank you for your suggestions.

**Saiyan Prince 1:** hmmmm, another Jinchuriki or two? I'll consider it, however I don't like spoiling the story, so I'll add them when I feel the time is right. To tell you the truth, I had been concidering them meeting the other 6 (they've already met Gaara, and they are both Jinchuriki, meaning there would be six others.) However, I'm not sure as to what point the Akatsuki have gotten with their plan of Biju draining. I seem to remember a passage spoken by Itachi in either some obscure episode or issue that people had practically thanked the Akatsuki for taking the demon containers away, so I'm not sure how many are left...

Rokudaime quote for the chapter: **SAKURA: **delivers a kidnapped Sasuke to Orochimaru "Okay, now where the cash?"

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 16:

Year One:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**After 4 Months in the Hidden Mist Villages:**

Naruto and Yukiko had been fiercely training in their Suiton techniques. Both of them had learnt just about every Suiton technique known to humans, however, Jiraiya had not forgotten that he was going to teach Yukiko the water cannon ball from a frog, although summoning a frog here would prove disasterous. After four months, they were asked to report to the Mizukage's office unexpectedly. They filed in, and took their seats. The Mizukage looked up from his work and smiled.

"Ah, it's good to see you three again. I've been given an S class mission that I feel would be perfect for you."

Jiraiya spoke up.

"What does the mission contain?"

"The mission involves a reconnasance mission, however, we have already sent four squads of ANBU out to attempt this mission..."

"I sense a but."

"But none of them have returned. And the last one left about a month after you arrived."

Jiraiya looked thoughtful.

"We'll investigate it."

"Arigato."

The Mizukage handed a sheet of paper to Jiraiya, who he took and shared with his students. They both nodded, while Jiraiya put the mission breifing in a pocket. Jiraiya turned back to the Mizukage.

"I have one request, Mizukage-Dono."

"And what would that be?"

"That you send NO ONE to reinforce us. We work better alone."

"Very well. Please be careful."

"We will."

The trio exited the room, leaving the Mizukage to his work. Once out of the door, Jiraiya turned to the others and conveyed his suspicions.

"We're heading to the Thunder Country. Altough it's technically invading another country's borders, I have a feeling that whatever killed the ANBU was not exactly..."

Yukiko finished the sentence for him.

"Human?"

"Right. If the rumours I've heard are true, then the strange weather that is occuring in the area might have something to do with it."

Naruto's brows furrowed.

"Strange weather?"

"From the rumours I've heard, massive lightning storms have appeared suddenly, and then several minutes later, dissapeared as if nothing happened."

Naruto was now almost certain as to what was causing it. He confered with Kyubi to make sure.

_'Could it be the Rokubi?'_

_**'From what the pervert is saying, I'd say it's highly likely. We should go, no doubt Akatsuki has also began moving.'**_

_'Ok.'_

Naruto conveyed his discussion with Jiraiya.

"Kyubi and I both agree that the cause of it is the Rokubi. Did Nibi say the same thing, Yukiko-Chan?"

Yukiko nodded.

"It's also likely that Akatsuki will be moving in to try and claim another Biju. We have to hurry."

Jiraiya nodded.

"Let's go."

With that, the trip began making their way to a port which took them directly to the Thunder Country.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**One Week Later, On the Border of the Thunder Country:**

Jiraiya, Naruto and Yukiko had just arrived at the thunder country, and began making their way to the town. They quickly asked for any information as to where the strange thunder storms had occurred. Most people looked at them in horror, expressing how foolish itwas to seek it out. Eventually they managed to prise some information out of a man, who stated that the last thunder storm had occurred about two days walk north east of the village. They thanked the man, but Naruto needed to confirm something.

"Excuse me mister, I need to know one last thing."

"What is it?"

"Did you happen to see any men in black cloaks with red clouds pass through here?"

The man looked thoughtful for a moment, before he brightened.

"Yes, actually. They said they were going to fix the problem."

All three of them yelled in unison.

"SHIT!"

They charged ahead, trying to make it to the Jinchuriki before the Akatsuki did. Due to the man saying it would take two days walk, the ninjas made it within several hours. Just before they got there, a massive lightening storm appeared overhead out of nowhere. Naruto knew the Rokubi had encountered the Akatsuki. They tried to get there faster, but they doubt they could make it in time, however Naruto had a plan.

"Guys, we'll be too late if we go at this rate. I'll use Hiraishin no Jutsu to get there. You two catch up as soon as possible, got it?"

They both nodded, not having any other options. Naruto focused his chakra, and turned into a yellow blur, speeding off towards their target.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A Few Miles Ahead:**

Sora was having the fight of her life. She had beaten off four squads of guys who had identified themselves as ANBU, which left her pretty drained. Even her demon was drained from the constant fights. However, there two before her were nothing like anyone she had met before. These two were reguaring her as if she was no real threat to them, which actually seemed to be the case. One of them was a very strange man. He smelt distinctly of fish, mostly of shark. He had a massive sword strapped to his back. His friend was also very strange. He had an almost distant expression in his eyes. But his eyes were what caught her attention. Although the irises had been completely black when they had arrived, they were now crimson red. What was even more strange was that at the edge of the iris were three little comma marks, spread around the eye at equal distances. The fish man's partner spoke first.

"Sora-San, why don't you make this easier on the three of us? Please come with us calmly."

"NEVER!"

The man sighed and turned to his partner.

"Kisame, please render her immobile."

"Heh, sure thing Itachi."

Kisame stepped forward and took the sword off his back. Once he was within striking range of Sora let forth a surge of chakra only to find it gone the moment she summoned it. Sora looked up in shock to see that Kisame's sword was wriggling and making odd noises.

"My... My chakra..."

"Ha! My sword, Samehada eats chakra! Now, why don't we chop off a leg or two to make transportation easier?"

Sora squeezed her eyes shut as she saw the blow coming. However, what she had not expected was to feel a rush of air followed by water splashing over her. When the blow didn't come, she slowly opened her eyes to see a boy standing where Kisame had been. She looked up scared that this boy was also here to kill her. However he just smiled at her.

"I'll take care of these guys. Go hide for now, my friends will come and see if you're ok."

"Who... Are you?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. And if you're wondering why I'm saving you, it's because I'm just like you, a demon container. I give you my word that while I still breathe, you won't die. Plus, I have a personal issue with the guy over there."

Naruto jerked his thumb at Itachi. Sora nodded dumbly and got up.

"Thank you..."

"No worries. Now, quickly go hide."

Sora scampered off into the shurbs behind Naruto as he turned to face his opponents. Naruto grinned.

"Yo, Itachi! What kind of partner did you pick up there? He looks like a fish. Bit out of his element isn't he?"

Kisame growled.

"Shut it brat!"

"Make me, fishface!"

Kisame started charging forward, only to see Itachi put his hand out, stopping Kisame.

"We're out of our league, Kisame. We've got two Jinchuriki's in front of us, and I sense another coming from behind. I also sense another very powerful chakra signature with the Jinchuriki behind. It's at Sannin level."

Kisame growled.

"Damn it. You got lucky this time brat. We'll be back."

"I look forward to it. And Itachi, one last thing."

Itachi looked at Naruto.

"Sasuke and I WILL kill you. Your days are numbered."

Itachi seemed to pay no attention and nodded to Kisame. They both flickered out of existance. Just then, Jiraiya and Yukiko chose that moment to appear out of the bushes. Jiraiya looked around, while Yukiko glomped Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun! Don't EVER do that again! You scared me to death!"

"Yukiko-Chan, I need you to look at the Jinchuriki. It's female, and she's hurt badly."

Yukiko nodded. Naruto turned to the bushes where he had last seen the girl run off to.

"It's safe to come out now, they're gone."

Slowly, a very brusied and bloody girl emerged from the bushes. The girl's eyes were hazel, and she had brown hair. She was almost as tall as Yukiko was, perhaps 3 inches shorter. Yukiko slowly approached her so as not to startle her.

"I'm with Naruto-Kun. Are you alright?"

The girl nodded slowly.

"My name is Yukiko. I'm a medic. Would you like me to heal you?"

The girl slowly nodded her head and Yukiko walked up to her and inspected her.

"You've lost a lot of blood. You're also suffering from severe chakra exhaustion. Hold on."

Yukiko reached into her medical pouch and pulled out two pills.

"I want you to eat these. This one is a soldier pill, which will help you replenish your chakra, and this is a blood pill. It should quickly recover some of your blood."

The girl nodded and ate them, starting to feel slightly better. She tried to take a step forward to see if she could still walk when she felt pain shoot through her body. She gritted her teeth and fell to the ground. Yukiko caught her and laid her down.

"You shouldn't be able to move yet. I'm going to start healing you, but you have to trust me ok?"

The girl nodded slowly. Yukiko turned to Naruto and Jiraiya.

"You two, give us some space. I'm going to have to strip her clothes off to get at some of the wounds."

Jiraiya looked vaugly amused at this.

"NO ERO-SENNIN! You're not going to use her as 'research'!"

Naruto grabbed Jiraiya's hand and dragged him away. Once the two were out of sight, Yukiko turned back to the girl. Yukiko smiled.

"Would you mind if I removed your clothes? I can't heal you with them on."

The girl nodded slowly and Yukiko got to work. After about ten minutes, most of the girls wounds had been healed. Yukiko smiled.

"I never did get your name."

"Sora..."

"Sora? Nice to meet you Sora. Unfortunately, your clothes are practically useless now, as they're ripped to shreds. Why don't I go to the nearest village and get you some new ones?"

Sora was shocked. No one had EVER been anywhere near this nice to her. She was used to people hunting her yelling things like 'demon' and whatnot. She slowly smiled.

"Ok..."

"Any specific coulors or types of clothes you want me to get?"

"Um... Sky blue... And just like my old ones... If possible please..."

Yukiko smiled and got up.

"I may be a few hours, as the closest town is several miles away, assuming they have clothes for sale. I'll see what I can do. For now, just dress in your old clothes. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Yukiko walked out of the bushes and conversed with Naruto and Jiraiya before jumping off into the trees and was gone. Sora slowly put on her clothes, afraid that even the slightest movement would cause pain. However, she found now that she only had a headache and was very tired. Slowly she stepped out to see the two males turn to her and smile. Naruto was the first to talk.

"Are you ok now?"

"Yes thank you..."

"Yukiko-Chan is a good person isn't she?"

"Yeah..."

By the way, this guy behind me is Jiraiya, but I just call him Ero-Sennin."

Jiraiya slumped.

"Do you have to introduce me like that to everyone, Naruto?"

"What? You ARE an Ero-Sennin..."

"I'm not an Ero-Sennin! I'm a Gama-Sennin!"

"Ero!"

"Gama!"

"Ero!"

"Gama!"

Sora couldn't help but giggle at their antics. Suddenly, her stomach growled, letting her know that she was rather hungry. Naruto and Jiraiya looked up at Sora making her blush. Naruto just smiled.

"I'm pretty hungry as well. We didn't get to pack much before we came, so I guess we'll have to go looking for food..."

Naruto bit his thumb and formed some hand seals before slamming his fist on the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Three small one tailed kitsunes appeared from the smoke. They looked up at Naruto waiting for their orders.

"I want you three to go and scout for food. If you find any, come back here and tell me."

The three kitsunes ran off in different directions, leaving the three of them there. Sora had a lot of questions on her mind, and was deciding on which one to ask first. Naruto seemed to notice this.

"I assume you have questions you want to ask? Fire away."

"Um... You said you were a Jinchuriki, right?"

"Yup."

"Um... Which demon is sealed inside you?"

"The Kyubi no Kitsune."

"I see... Your friend is also a Jinchuriki, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's the container for Nibi."

"Ok..."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"No..."

"You contain the Rokubi, right?"

"Yes..."

"Did the villagers treat you badly?"

The look of anguish on Sora's face told Naruto everything.

"I thought so... Yukiko-Chan and I went through exactly the same thing. Damn it, why can't regular humans just accept us? Well, I doubt we can leave you here-"

Jiraiya cut Naruto off at this point.

"What are you suggesting, Naruto?"

"Can we PLEASE take her with us, Ero-Sennin? She'll just be killed if she goes back..."

"I don't know..."

"PLEASE?"

Naruto looked up with the irrisistable puppy pout technique. Jiraiya sighed.

"Ok, she can come with us. However, I need to talk with her about a few things."

"NO RESEARCHING!"

"Naruto, I'm being serious. I need to know if she can survive the road we have ahead of us."

"Ok."

"Sora was it?"

The girl looked at Jiraiya and nodded.

"The three of us are currently on a four year training trip. We had planned to go to every country and learn jutsus from each country, however, if we were to appear in the Hidden Cloud Village, we would be kicked out, regardless of whether we appear as Hidden Nins or not."

"I can help you."

Jiraiya and Naruto looked up at this.

"The Rokubi enabled me to learn Raiton jutsus very quickly. I know a lot of very powerful Raiton jutsus, even some Kage level ones..."

"How did you manage to learn the Kage level ones?"

"Originally, the villagers wanted to make me into the ultimate weapon of the Cloud, but after a while, people started getting angry because Rokubi had killed their familes before it was sealed, and they wanted revenge..."

"Exactly like Gaara..."

"Gaara?"

"Gaara is the container for Ichibi no Shukaku. He is the son of the former Kazekage from the Hidden Village of Sand. His father wanted to turn him into the Sand's ultimate weapon, however he realised that Gaara was quickly becoming far too powerful, and sent out multiple assasins to kill him."

"He sent assasins to kill his own son!"

"The former Kazekage wanted nothing but power. The last straw of Gaara's sanity was shattered when his one and only friend was ordered to assasinate him. He could have refused the order, but he wanted to do it to avenge his sister, who was Gaara's mother. Gaara's mother had to be sacrificed in order to seal the Shukaku inside Gaara. Gaara then believed that the reason for his existance was to kill every other human besides himself."

Sora was now looking at Naruto in horror, however Naruto pushed on.

"The thing is, I managed to prove to him that the only way to become truly strong was to protect those that are important to you. He didn't believe me at first, but I managed to beat him in a fight, and now he's slowly getting his sanity back, because he realises that I was right."

At this point, the three kitsune's arrived back in the clearing. Two of them had rabbits in their jaws, while the third had nothing but was tugging at Naruto's pant leg indicating he wanted him to follow him. Naruto took the two rabbits from the mouths of the Kitsunes, while they waited for their new orders. Naruto grinned sheepishly before giving them their next orders.

"Ah, sorry about this, but could you two try and catch something else as well? This won't be enough to feed all of us..."

The two kitsunes gave a foxy grin and shot off into the undergrowth again. Naruto turned back to the remaining kitsune and used Kyubi to decipher what he wanted.

"Water?"

The kitsune looked up at him and let forth a yip. Naruto smiled and pulled his empty canteen off his out of its pocket. He took Jiraiya's as well and followed the Kitsune into the trees. Jiraiya started setting up a small camp fire before using a very small amount of fire to start the fire. Once he got it going, he skinned the rabbits and put them over the fire. Soon, Naruto had come back with two full canteens of water. Several minutes later, the other two kitsunes came back. One was carrying a single rabbit, while the other was carrying two. Naruto smiled and Took the rabbits, giving all of them a scratch on the head. Naruto decided that the kitsune's work should not go unrewarded.

"Ok you three, you've done a good job. If you want to hang around, I'll give this spare one to you guys."

The three looked very eager, and sat down as they waited for the rabbits to cook. Soon after, Yukiko arrived with some new clothes for Sora. Sora brightened up and took the clothes from Yukiko thanking her. Sora walked behind some bushes and quickly got changed. Once she came out, Jiraiya stopped eating and stared with a trickle of drool coming down his chin. She was wearing a short sky blue sleeveless dress that had a thick red line running up the middle. Underneath, she had a green short leaved shirt on. (Think Hokuto from the Hidden Star Village anime filler arc without the weird leg things or the sash.) Yukiko put her rabbit down and walked up behind Jiraiya and slammed her fist into his head.

"HENTAI!"

Sora blushed profusely and walked up to sit next to Yukiko, and as far away from 'Ero-Sennin' as possible. They all returned to their meals. After that, they decided to turn in for the night, as it was almost dusk. Jiraiya opted for first watch, while Naruto would go second and Yukiko third. They decided it would be better to let Sora sleep the entire night so she could fully recover her strength.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Early the Next Morning:**

Yukiko had just finished her watch and decided to go wake the others up. She woke up Naruto first with a kiss causing Naruto to moan before slowly opening his eyes. He smiled groggily at Yukiko.

"Well, I certainly don't mind being woken up like that..."

"Good morning, Naruto-Kun."

"Good morning, Yukiko-Chan."

Naruto slowly got out of bed and went off to get changed and take care of his personal hygine. Yukiko went over to Sora and slowly woke her up.

"Sora? It's time to get up. We have to get moving soon."

Sora opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Yukiko. Sora smiled and started stretching, leaving Yukiko to go wake up Jiraiya. As she approached Jiraiya, she could tell he was having a very plesant dream. She found out just how plesant when she got closer and saw a trickle of blood come out his nose. Yukiko contained her anger and shook Jiraiya roughly to wake him up from his 'fantasy'. Jiraiya woke with a start, mumbling something about cheerleaders. Yukiko walked away and started prepairing breakfast. Once Naruto returned, he helped her. Sora didn't want to feel left out, and used her knowledge of the surrounding area and what grew here to go and find some edible fruits and other things. Once Sora returned, she handed them to Yukiko, telling her how best to cook them, as some of the friuts gave nasty... side effects if cooked incorrectly. Yukiko took this in her stride and cooked everyone breakfast. Once it was done, they ate and broke camp before heading back the way they came.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Two Weeks Later, Near the Entrance to the Hidden Mist Village:**

Jiraiya stopped about 3 miles from the entrance to the village and motioned for everyone to stop as well. Once they did, Jiraiya turned to Sora and explained why they stopped.

"Sora, the reason why we found you initially was that the Mizukage sent us on a mission to find out why four squads of ANBU had dissapeared."

Sora looked very guilty but Jiraiya kept going.

"We need you to stay outside the village for a while. Not any great length of time, just a few hours. Once we got back from this mission, I had planned on moving to the next village, so this is just convinient. If we brought you into the village, we'd have to explain your presence, which would most likely lead to your execution. Stay here and we'll come back as quickly as we can."

Sora nodded, and Jiraiya looked to Naruto and Yukiko, who followed Jiraiya into the village. Once they had met with the Mizukage and made a cover story that the stage weather had drawn the attention of Akatsuki, the ANBU had attacked and had all fallen to the members of Akatsuki. Mizukage sighed, as this was not the first time it had happened.

"Well, Although my ANBU members are all dead, at least we found the cause. Tell me, did you actually engage with the members of Akatsuki?"

"We did, however, they were unable to beat us and retreated."

"I see... It seems that hidden nins are even feared by Akatsuki... Well, good work. Please collect your payment from the mission counter. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"Yes actually, Mizukage-Dono. We are on a strict training schedual, and I need to meet up with a fellow hidden nin on the way to the Hidden Village of Sand."

"There's more than just you three?"

"Yes. It seems that most of us went into semi-retirement due to the fact that most of the world was at peace until about 13 years ago. With the resurfacing of the demon lords, it seems that hidden nins are needed once again."

"Interesting... The Hidden Village of Sand is not exactly our closest ally, but please greet the Kazekage for me."

"We will."

"It was a pleasure having you stay in our village. If you ever wish to come back, please feel free to drop by."

"Thank you, Mizukage-Dono."

With that, Mizukage shook each of their hands and left them to pack their things and make their way to the Hidden Village of Stone. Once they were out, they went to the meeting place they had left Sora to find that she was still there dosing. When she heard people approaching she crouched into a ready stance. Once they came into visual range of her though, she relaxed. They smiled at each other before Jiraiya told her of their plans.

"We're heading to the Hidden Village of Sand. The reason why is that there is a certain kunoichi who I'm pretty sure had the ability to summon weasels. If memory serves correctly, Rokubi is a weasel, which would make it the perfect contract for you."

"I... Get to summon weasels?"

Naruto could sense the disappointment in her voice and tried to cheer her up.

"Weasels can't be that bad. I mean Ero-Sennin summons frogs, and they're pretty cool."

"Frogs?"

"Yeah! My dad was the only other person to recently sign the contract of the frogs, and he used it to call out the king of the frogs, Gamabunta while fighting the Kyubi no Kitsune."

"Your father?"

Naruto suddenly looked sad for a moment, before brightening up.

"Yeah! The Yondaime Hokage, also known as Yellow Flash!"

Sora's eyes widened at this. No one could have NOT heard of the Yellow Flash of Konoha.

"Yellow Flash was your father?"

"Yep!"

Sora gained a new level of respect for Naruto. He was the son of possibly one of the most famous people to ever walk the earth. Suddenly, something struck Sora.

"If Yellow Flash was your father, then you would know how to do the Hiraishin no Jutsu right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"So why haven't you used it since I met you?"

Jiraiya answered for Naruto.

"If Naruto had used either of Arashi's trademark moves in front of anyone, it would have been a dead give away that we're not really hidden nins, but Konoha ninjas."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry though, where we're going next, I can use both of them all I want!"

"The Sand?"

"Yeah! They're our allies, and since we saved Gaara, I hope the villagers will be nice to us, unlike in Konoha..."

Naruto and Yukiko looked sad for a moment before Jiraiya decided to get them moving.

"Come on you three, we're going. We'll stop and learn techniques from each other while we're travelling."

"Ano, Ero-Sennin?"

"What?"

"Where are we going to get a hidden nin forehead protector for Sora from?"

"We won't find any places that sell them, so we'll have to ask the Sand to make us one. Ok you three! Next stop: The Sand!"

With that, the four of them hopped from branch to branch to get towards the docks and eventually make their way to the Sand.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Around a Month Later, At the Gates of the Hidden Village of Sand:**

The Chunin on guard duty was very pissed off. Today was supposed to be his girlfriend's birthday, and he had asked for the day off from guard duty, only to have his request turned down by the Kazekage. What made matters worse was that just as predicted, there was a rather large sand storm whipping about, making guarding even more unplesant. He grumbled and shifted from one foot to the other, readjusting his facial mask that was used on days like this to keep the sand from his eyes, nose and mouth. He looked up to stare out into the desert. He was about to look back down when he spotted something in the distance. He focused on the object and watched as it stedily grew larger. After half an hour, he could tell that the object was actually a group of people, walking directly towards him. He looked to the other guard on duty to see that he had seen it to. They both shifted slightly to get into a partial ready stance. After another half an hour, the figures were within shouting distance, had there been no sandstorm. After another five minutes, the figures were directly infront of them. One of the guards shouted to be heard over the din of the storm.

"Names and reason for visiting!"

The oldest one of them said nothing but pointed to his forehead protector. The guard who had asked them to identify themselves looked on in confusion, however the other guard's eyes opened wide in shock.

"Hidden Nins!"

Now the other guard's eyes opened in shock. Hidden Nins? Weren't they supposed to be the stuff of ledgends? However, the man who had realised what they were pushed a button on the intercom by his side.

"What is it?"

"Kazekage-Sama! We have four Hidden Nins here requesting entrance to the village!"

"Send them to me immediately."

"Hai!"

The man nodded to them and beckoned them to follow him. They took to the rooves, and arrived at the Kazekage's office within about fifteen minutes. Once they got in, they took off their cloaks and placed them on a rack designed for that exact purpose. They were guided to an elaborate oak door, where the Chunin knocked.

"Come in."

The Chunnin opened the door and led the four of them in. When Naruto saw the Kazekage he froze, as did Yukiko. They both called his name in unison.

"GAARA!"

Gaara turned around in his chair and smiled.

"It's good to see you again, Uzumaki Naruto, Yakushi Yukiko."

Naruto and Yukiko froze. Did Gaara just... Smile? They were broken out of their thoughts by Gaara.

"Please take a seat. We have much to catch up on."

They took their seats and smiled.

"Gaara, when did you become Kazekage?"

"Almost a week ago. Once we returned after the failed invasion, we found out a man by the name of Orochimaru had murdered my father and had taken on his appearance in the main matches of the Chuunin Exam. There was no one else available for the job, so I was elected. It seems that everyone is beginning to stop fearing me, ever since the Akatsuki attack a few days ago."

Naruto and Yukiko hissed. Their friend had been severely messed with by both Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Suddenly, Naruto thought about something.

"Ano, Gaara?"

"What is it Naruto?"

"Since you have Shukaku sealed inside you, you can't sleep right?"

"That is correct."

"Well, I have a bloodline that gives me mastery over both hand and carved seals. If you let me see your seal, I'm sure I can come up with a way that will let you sleep in peace."

Gaara looked like he didn't believe what he had just heard.

"I'm sorry?"

"I can fix your seal so that you can sleep whenever you want."

Gaara now shoed a rare emotion that practically no one had seen outside when he went on a killing frenzy. Joy. Pure undiluted joy.

"Naruto's very good with seals. He managed to dispel a seal that required three unique hand seals to open a safe that was in my old apartment that no one else in the world could open, and it only took him several minutes to find all the hand seals."

Gaara practically leapt out of his chair and stood in front of Naruto. Naruto smiled and activated his 'Seal Eye'.

"Please show me the seal, Gaara."

Gaara hastily removed his shirt and concentrated his chakra. Slowly, a seal appeared on his navel. Naruto concentrated. He shook his head in amazement.

"Gaara, whoever made that seal was taking a huge risk."

"What do you mean, Naruto?"

"I'm surprised you lasted longer than a second when that seal was put on you. It's the most messed up seal I've ever seen."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well, it's hard to describe unless you're a medical doctor or you have the 'Seal Eye', because I can't think of a way to explain it in words other than that the seal is barely containing Shukaku's chakra from essentially turning you into a living exploding kage bunshin."

Everyone's eyes widened. Gaara was now desperate.

"Can you fix it?"

"I should be able to, however I will need a week at least."

"Take as long as you need. However, I need to know if there is any chance that I will... Explode... As you put it..."

"I can't see it happening unless Shukaku attempts to fully merge with you with your seal as it currently is. But it seems Shukaku is trying to do exactly that, and I'd say has been for a very long time, possibly since he was first sealed inside you."

Gaara frowned. It was the closest thing he showed to fear.

"Don't worry Gaara, you're a precious friend, and I won't let you die. Give me a week and I'll have it fixed."

"I'm a... Precious friend?"

"Yup. I always knew you were a good guy deep down, but your childhood just suppressed that."

"I see... Well, is there anything else you wish to discuss before I have you assigned to your quarters?"

Yukiko spoke up, remembering the real reason they were here.

"Ano Gaara... Our friend here-"

Yukiko nodded towards Sora.

"-Is the Jinchuriki of the Rokubi, the king of the weasels. I seem to remember that Temari had a contract with the weasels. Would it be possible for Sora to sign the contract?"

"I cannot give you a yes or no to that, however I will talk to Temari and see what I can do."

"Arigato, Gaara."

"You are most welcome. Now, I will call in someone to lead you to your rooms."

Gaara put his shirt back on and went to an intercom on his desk and pressed the talk button.

"Kankuro?"

"Yes, brother?"

"We have some very important guests who need to be shown to their rooms."

"Ok, I'll be right there."

The intercom clicked off and Gaara waited. Soon, a knock on the door sounded.

"Come in."

Kankuro walked in and stopped dead when he saw who these 'VIP's were. Naruto grinned and waved.

"Hey, Kankuro!"

"Naruto? Yukiko? It's good to see you again!"

Kankuro smiled and led them out the door to their room's in the Kazekage's mansion.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**That Evening, in Naruto and Yukiko's Room:**

Naruto had quickly unpacked when he first arrived and straight away opened his father's box that he carried at the bottom of his backpack. He instantly immersed himself in his father's theories and deductions on major seals. When it was dinner time, Yukiko had to come and drag Naruto to the table, while he continued to read it. When they sat down at the table, Naruto barely noticed Temari and Kankuro glaring at Naruto's obvious 'I couldn't care less about you' attitude. Eventually Temari had had enough and grabbed the scroll out of Naruto's hands. Naruto shot Temari a glare before Gaara interrupted.

"Give it back."

Temari and Kankuro just gave their brother a look of confusion.

"What?"

"I said give it back!"

Temari slowly handed the scroll back to Naruto who immediately immersed himself in it. Yukiko sighed and explained.

"Naruto's trying to fix Gaara's seal."

Temari and Kankuro's chopsticks dropped from their hands.

"WHAT!"

Gaara's eye twitched.

"Keep it down."

"Sorry..."

Gaara turned back to Naruto.

"How's it going Naruto?"

Naruto looked up and scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"Ah hah hah... Not too good..."

Everyone sweat dropped. Eventually, Yukiko sighed and whispered in Naruto's ear. Naruto started blushing and rolled the scroll up, before slipping it into his pocket.

"Um... Sorry I was ignoring you... I was kinda... Absorbed... In trying to fix the seal..."

Temari snorted.

"Absorbed is a bit of an understatement."

Naruto grinned and got back to eating. Soon enough friendly conversation started up again. Eventually, Yukiko tried to broach the subject of the summoning contract with Temari.

"Ano, Temari... You have a summoning contract with the weasels, don't you?"

"Yes I do. Why?"

"Well, while we were in the Lightening Country, we managed to save Sora from Akatsuki. She is the container of the Rokubi, who happens to be a weasel, and we were wondering if you would let her sign the contract..."

Temari's face showed an odd mix of emotions. Eventually, a smile broke out.

"Well, it seems someone else appreciates the power of the weasels. Well, it's a bit late now, but why don't you come to my room tomorrow, Sora?"

Sora smiled.

"Sure. What time?"

"10 am if it's fine with you."

"Sounds good."

With that, everyone got back to their meals. After another five minutes, everyone finished their meal. They engaged in some more small talk before they decided to retire for the night.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The Next Morning, in Naruto and Yukiko's Rooms:**

"Yukiko awoke slowly, noticing that she wasn't in the arms of Naruto. She opened her eyes and saw that Naruto was sitting on the floor, bleary eyed and still reading the scrolls. Yukiko sighed and got up. She walked over to Naruto and checked on the progress.

"Naruto, did you stay up al night doing that?"

Naruto looked up and gave a tired smile.

"Yeah…"

"Have you made any progress?"

Naruto stopped smiling and looked very serious.

"Yes and no."

"Care to explain?"

"Well, no, I haven't found a way to fix the current seal. However, I think I have found a way to fix it…"

"What do you mean?"

"Um… We have to remove the seal and reseal him…"

Yukiko's eyes widened.

"But… That will kill him!"

"I know. That's why I need your help."

"What do you need?"

"I'm theorising that if Gaara somehow focused all his charka into the inner coils around his stomach, and tried to force the Shukaku's charka to stay in his core for a small amount of time, just enough for me to reseal him, I might be able to put Shukaku in a proper seal"

"That's extremely risky. How do you want me to help?"

"I need you to try and teach Gaara to focus his charka into his inner coils, and preferably try and solidify them or something…"

"Like a charka clot?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Yukiko's bows furrowed.

"I guess I could do that, however, forming charka clots in such a vital area is essentially like forming a blood clot in the heart, meaning a heart attack of the charka system."

"It's the only way I can think of doing it. Gaara has to try and overpower Shukaku for a few seconds while I do the new seal."

"What type of seal will you use?"

"A double four element seal."

"Isn't that the…"

"Shikifuujin? Yes, however, I can use what my dad created as the predecessor to the Shikifuujin, since Shukaku is already inside Gaara."

"Ok…"

"So, will you do it?"

"Yes, I'll do it."

"Thanks, Yukiko-Chan."

"No problem, Naruto-Kun."

Yukiko took a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom and took a shower. After she got out, Naruto decided to go take a shower. After he got out, he decided to go visit Gaara and tell him what needed to happen.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Shortly After, in Gaara's Office:**

Gaara took Naruto's findings rather well, or so it seemed. Inside, he was very fearful as to what could happen, although he didn't show it.

"Are you sure there is no other way?"

"There might be, but I don't know with this level of the 'Seal Eye'."

"I see. Well, I will learn how to clot my charka coils from Yukiko. Once I have, tell me when you're ready."

"Ok."

Naruto walked out of the room, and told Yukiko to begin teaching Gaara to clot his coils using some lesser charka coils as examples. Naruto went up on top of the Kazekage tower and began writing intricate patterns of kanji on the floor. Gaara had requested two squads of ANBU to protect Naruto and make sure he had everything he needed. When he finished, he looked to one of the ANBU.

"Please get Gaara, I'm ready to begin."

The ANBU nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Several minutes later, he reappeared with Gaara by his side. Naruto and Gaara had a quick, hushed conversation before Gaara turned to the ANBU.

"What is about to happen could possibly result in my death. I will be in extreme pain, however you are not to interrupt at any time. Do I make myself clear?"

The ANBU nodded and stepped back. Naruto directed Gaara to lay down in the centre of the Kanji circles.

"Ok Gaara, give me a second."

Naruto activated his 'Seal Eye', and nodded.

"Please block your charka coils."

Gaara nodded and closed his eyes. He soon started gasping and spasming. Naruto quickly pushed charka into his fingers an slammed his fingers into Gaara's stomach.

"Shukaku Unseal!"

Gaara now started screaming, trying desperately to hold Shukaku's power in, and keep it from making his body explode. Naruto quickly went through a short series of hand seals before slamming his hand back into Gaara's stomach.

"Double Four Element Seal!"

Naruto looked at Yukiko and nodded. Yukiko stood over Gaara and forceably unblocked his chakra coils. Yukiko turned to Naruto, who gave her a weary smile.

"It worked."

Yukiko turned to Gaara.

"Gaara, it was a success. You should rest."

"I can… Sleep?"

"Yes."

"Ok…"

Gaara slowly closed his eyes and went to sleep. Naruto looked at the ANBU.

"It was a success. Please get the medics to look over him until he wakes up. If anything even remotely strange happens, call me immediately. Right now, I need to rest."

With that, Naruto fell over backwards, a slight grin on his face, only to be caught by Yukiko. The ANBU approached Gaara and took hold of him, taking him to the hospital. Yukiko took Naruto back to his room.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**That Afternoon, at the Hospital:**

When Gaara woke up, he saw two figures sitting by his bed. Once his vision cleared, he saw that the two figures were Naruto and Yukiko. Naruto smiled and spoke up.

"How was your first unhindered sleep, Gaara?"

"It was… Great… I like sleeping…"

Naruto and Yukiko laughed. Yukiko got up and smiled.

"I was asked to get a doctor when you woke up, I'll be back in a moment."

Yukiko walked out the door and started a muffled conversation before a doctor came in and smiled.

"Kazekage-Sama, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Great. I want to go back to sleep."

The medic chuckled softly.

"I need to do a few tests first, if you don't mind. Then you can sleep."

Gaara nodded, and the medic took his blood pressure, checked his eyes and his temperature.

"It seems you've made a complete recovery, however I would like to keep you in here until tomorrow morning, just to be safe."

Gaara nodded again, and closed his eyes.

"Sleep well, Gaara."

With that, Gaara went back to sleep, enjoying it for the second time in his life.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Yosh! Another chapter! 21 and a bit pages, this one was. Anyways, I also just realised my mistake on making Yukiko come from the Hidden Village of Snow. I've noticed that in the manga and anime, the two demon containers we know of (Three if you include Kisame as one) came from the villages that related to their Bijus. What I mean by this was that Kisame (assuming he's Sanbi) came from the Mist, Gaara came from the Sand and Naruto came from the Leaf (Fire Country) . Kisame/Sanbi has mostly water based jutsus, Gaara/Shukaku has mostly Sand and Wind based techniques (Sand is located in the Wind Country, remember) and Kyubi knows pretty much exclusively fire jutsus (Naruto didn't learn any fire jutsus before he left with Jiraiya, however, since he came back, I have no idea.) Therefore Yukiko should have either technically been either born in Konoha, or Grass, as although Orochimaru and Kabuto are known for using death like techniques I'm pretty sure that the Sound Village didn't exist twelve or so years ago, and both Konoha and Grass have Wood jutsus (I assume Grass has some kind of wood or wood like techniques, otherwise, why would they call themselves Grass? remember, Nibi uses Shamanism as well as Necromancy)

Anyways, enough theorising. I'll see you next chapter. Until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	20. Important Vote!

**A/N:** Hey guys and girls! I have to put up a vote because this is urgent as to where the next few chapters will go.Why you ask? This is not just a minor vote, but a very major one, as it will introduce the last of the OC demon containers. Depending on who you vote for, that will be the only other demon container that survived Akatsuki. The others will be presumed either currently in Akatsuki's care or dead due to Biju drainage. Here are you options (they all give a brief description as to the type of animal they are, and their likely powers):

**(A):** Yonbi no Soko: The Yonbi no Soko is the four tailed demon lord. The Yonbi is said to be a highly venomous mix between a rooster and a reptile, ie a Cockatrice. The container specialises in poisons: 3

**(B):** The Gobi no Houkou. The Gobi no Houkou is the five tailed demon lord of the dogs, who has the ability to merge with trees and each of his five tails specialise in a particular elemental type that when used simultaineously can cause earthquakes. Also, his final power is that he is litterally the god of Genjutsu: 5

**(C):** Shichibi is an unusual Biju, as it's exact creature type is unknown, however it has been narrowed down to three. I will give you each of the options to choose from, and the one with the most choices (assuming that Shichibi collects more votes than any other option) will be chosen as the appeareance of this one:

**(I):** Shichibi no Kaku: The Shichibi no Kaku is considered a seven tailed demon badger that specialises in Doton type techniques: 3

**(II):** Shichibi no Makumori: The Shichibi no Makumori is a seven tailed demon bat. Basically, he takes the negative feelings from around him and channels them through his demonic soul, and the result is a storm of despair that follows him wherever he goes. I'll probably add vampirism and body freeze to this, as that's not really enough to consider him a demon lord with just that: 3

**(III):** The Shichibi no Suzaku: The Shichibi no Suzaku is the demon lord of the phoenixes. Naturally, the phoenix specialises in immortality, real reserection (none of those pale Edo Tensei immitations Oh and since it's real reserection, this has alot of BIG implications: Shodaime, Nidaime, Yondaime, Nawaki, Dan, etc. HOWEVER, I will make sure he uses the reserection skill VERY spareingly, once or twice in the entire story, no more, and also his overal abilities will be toned down, otherwise he'll be unbeatable), katon jutsus and healing jutsus: 8

**(D):** Hachibi no Hachimata: The Hachibi no Hachimata is NOT contrary to popular belief a snake. I'll will prove this right now. Hachimata is an ancient Chinese dragon with eight tails but only ONE head. Hachi in Japanese means eight and Mata in Japanese means tail or thigh. Orochi is an eight tailed snake, but he also has eight heads, meaning that Hachibi is not the sanke Orochi. Hachibi no Hachimata is a dragon with crimson red eyes that specialises in Mokuton jutsus. (That makes me think that the Shodaime was actually the container for him, but whatever.): 3

Well, it seems that the majority of these guys come from either Grass or Fire Countires. (Now I'm starting to wonder if any of these even EXISTED in the anime and manga, as we would have heard about them if they attacked Fire Country. Either that, or the Grass Country would have been completely leveled, and then at least ONE of them they would have turned on the Fire Country. Man, the guys that made Naruto really needed to think more about the story line, didn't they?)

**IMPORTANT UPDATE!**

I will let the vote go until one option reaches 10. First to reach 10 winner. I have updated the scores as well, and will continue doing so until I update the next chapter, which will happen when a winner is decided. I have disreguarded all double votes. Each person gets one. If people stop voting before someone gets to 10, I'll allow round two ofvotes, however that will not happen unless people stop voting. Round two consists of the same ruls as round one. Also, no more dual votes please, it's kind of unfair. Namely, Rai ryu and Becomingthis. Please choose one option or the other. If you don't I'll just take your first choice as your vote. Also, I seem to have somehow miscounted Gobi's votes, so I'm fixing them now.

MoOn-ShInE-LoRd, it's good to hear from you again. Unfortunately, I had plans for this certain Jinchuriki, and the only way I would have made it a female was with a certain... Younger Uchiha in mind... I can hear it now: screams of torment from the Uchiha manor as well as manical laughter... Next morning:

Sakura: Sasuke-Kun! You look completely wasted! What happened?

Sasuke: SHE happened...

Points to girl who's trying to innocently hide a whip behind her back.

I also have this thing for Jinchuriki x Jinchuriki, as the result can technically be even better than the originals combined. If I was going to make the Jinchuriki a female however, I'd probably model her on a more hyperactive, eccentric Anko. (Oh god, that would be horrible... I'm litterally shuddering at the thought...)

Also, I got 100 Reviews! Yosh!

Ummm... GigaBomb... I see you chose C... That's great and all, but C contains 3 sub choices... Which one do you want?

One final thing. As this vote could potentially be put into effect next chapter, and the countries I can have them visit is dwindling fast, I need this vote done soon, so I may not update for a few days up to an entire week. I hope you can understand, as if this vote goes wrong, it could potentially stuff up my entire story, so please vote with haste!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	21. The Eating Contest

**A/N:** Hey guys and girls! I'm going to start on the next chapter. This chapter has the results of the latest vote, and I'm sorry that I kept this chapter from being updated for several days, however this vote will come into play next chapter, so I'm trying to give you guys some time to vote. Here are you options (they all give a brief description as to the type of animal they are, and their likely powers):

**(A):** Yonbi no Soko: The Yonbi no Soko is the four tailed demon lord. The Yonbi is said to be a highly venomous mix between a rooster and a reptile, ie a Cockatrice. The container specialises in poisons: 3

**(B):** The Gobi no Houkou. The Gobi no Houkou is the five tailed demon lord of the dogs, who has the ability to merge with trees and each of his five tails specialise in a particular elemental type that when used simultaineously can cause earthquakes. Also, his final power is that he is litterally the god of Genjutsu (watch out, Itachi!): 6

**(C):** Shichibi is an unusual Biju, as it's exact creature type is unknown, however it has been narrowed down to three. I will give you each of the options to choose from, and the one with the most choices (assuming that Shichibi collects more votes than any other option) will be chosen as the appeareance of this one:

**(I):** Shichibi no Kaku: The Shichibi no Kaku is considered a seven tailed demon badger that specialises in Doton type techniques: 3

**(II):** Shichibi no Makumori: The Shichibi no Makumori is a seven tailed demon bat. Basically, he takes the negative feelings from around him and channels them through his demonic soul, and the result is a storm of despair that follows him wherever he goes. I'll probably add vampirism to this, as that's not really enough to consider him a demon lord with just that: 3

**(III):** The Shichibi no Suzaku: The Shichibi no Suzaku is the demon lord of the phoenixes. Naturally, the phoenix specialises in immortality, real reserection (none of those pale Edo Tensei immitations), katon jutsus and healing jutsus (This could potentially mean a lot of things. Nawaki, Dan, Shodaime, Nidaime, Yondaime, etc. However, he will use his reserection skill VERY spareingly, possibly once or twice throught the entire story.): 10

**(D):** Hachibi no Hachimata: The Hachibi no Hachimata is NOT contrary to popular belief a snake. I'll prove this right now. Hachimata is an ancient Chinese dragon with eight tails but only ONE head. Hachi in Japanese means eight and Mata in Japanese means tail or thigh. Orochi is an eight tailed snake, but he also has eight heads, meaning that Hachibi is not a snake. Hachibi no Hachimata is a dragon with crimson red eyes that specialises in Mokuton jutsus. (That makes me think that the Shodaime was actually the container for him, but whatever.): 3

**RESULTS:** The winner is (C)(III), The Shichibi no Suzaku, demon lord of the Phoenixes. I will introduce it either next chapter, or at the end of this story, although most likely next chapter.

**Important:** Also, please go to the bottom of this chapter and take a vote that concerns the next chapter.

Well, it seems that the majority of these guys come from either Grass or Fire Countires. (Now I'm starting to wonder if any of these even EXISTED in the anime and manga, as we would have heard about them if they attacked Fire Country. Either that, or the Grass Country would have been completely leveled, and then at least ONE of them they would have turned on the Fire Country. Man, the guys that made Naruto really needed to think more about the story line, didn't they?) Lol I was just thinking about something. Should Naruto and Yukiko have kids, wouldn't at least one of them turn out like a lesser version of Shichibi no Suzaku that also specialises in Mokuton and Shiton jutsus? Anyways, I'll get onto the questions/comments now:

**Saiyan Prince 1:** Heh, I think a few chapters ago answered your question, did it not:P

**Dragon Noir:** Thank you for referring me to that story, it was certainly an interesting view on it, and very believable. I guess it was at the other end of the scale as to what could happen from my one, eh? Also thanks for your concerns as to the Hidden Nin thing. I guess I kinda left out a fair bit, although for some bizarre reason, I seemed to have left out an entire paragraph. I think it's because I have a spare copy of every chapter on my USB stick as well as on my home computer. Basically, I use the ones on my USB stick during the day while I'm at University, and then upload the changes at night to the copy on my home computer and work on it from there. I think what happened was that one of the days I was working on it, I only wrote a couple of paragraphs at University, but I forgot to update once I got home, meaning that the paragraphs on Yukiko's and Jiraiya's description were left out. I'll give you a brief description of their appearances: Jiraiya changed his clothes, and died his hair black, using the Hidden Nin forehead protector to cover his eyes (and most of those red lines) Yukiko also covered her eyes with her forehead protector, which stopped people from realising that she was Yukiko, as all they could see was that she had blue hair, which I'm sure at least a few other girls in the world have. Also, as for Naruto's coat, most of the people would have had suspicions, but people in Naruto are god damn ignorant. I mean, at least Hinata who knows practically everything about Naruto knows his birthday. She knows he's hated, she knows that his birthday is October 10th, and she knows that October 10th was the day Kyubi 'died'. She's not stupid by any stretch of the imagination, and if she is the person who is most aware of Naruto's life that doesn't know about IT, and she can't put two and two together, how is someone who's never seen Naruto before going to figure it out? I'm not trying to be angry or shoot you down, so please don't take this personally, but this is a subject which I get rather... Passionate... about. Basically, I'm just saying that people in the world of Naruto are god damn ignorant, and it pisses me off. Sorry for the rant.

**Dexoys:** Wow, you like my story that much? Um... Thanks, although I think it's rather... Unhealthy that you read my story at that level... Sure, it's great that you love literature, and I thank you for being an avid reader. I assume by meaning that my story to you is like ramen to Naruto, you check for updates every meal time and proceed to print and eat ten or so copies of it? (Sorry, I couldn't help myself, please forgive the joke, I will promptly stop writing such trashy jokes.)

**MoOn-ShInE-LoRd:** Heh, good to hear from you again. Unfortunately, I had plans for this certain Jinchuriki, and the only way I would have made it a female was with a certain... Younger Uchiha in mind... I can hear it now: screams of torment from the Uchiha manor as well as manical laughter... Next morning: Sakura: Sasuke-Kun! You look completely wasted! What happened? Sasuke: SHE happened... Points to girl who's trying to innocently hide a whip behind her back. I also have this thing for Jinchuriki x Jinchuriki, as the result can technically be even better than the originals combined. If I was going to make the Jinchuriki a female however, I'd probably model her on a more hyperactive, eccentric Anko. (Oh god, that would be horrible... I'm literally shuddering at the thought...)

**fox of sweet and awesome powers:** Lol, no need to worry. Thanks for picking me up on those things. I'll change them when I get around to them.

**Ani-Blast:** Thanks for your concerns. I have to agree with you that I didn't put enough thought into it, however, I rarely go back to fix things of the past, not just in stories, but in life in general. I think the next chapter will make up for it though.

**Solar Guardian:** Lol, thanks for the review. Based on the remaining places the Bijus could have been, I highly doubt that they would have been able to team up, due to the fact that all of them would have been in different countries. So, you want to know how much thought goes into each chapter that I write? Well, this is going to sound strange, but apart from the last few chapters of the Chunin exams, I start a new chapter usually a few minutes after I finish the last one and sit staring at the screen apparently doing nothing for about 10 or so minutes. During that 10 minutes, my mind is completely blank. I don't know how, but basically a rough, very vague idea comes into my head after about 10 minutes. That idea is what that chapter revolves around. From there, I begin writing and I go with what comes to my mind the second I write it. However, I do at least 2 reviews of each chapter once I finish it, although surprisingly, less than 5 percent of the entire chapter is changed each review and most of it is the author's notes. Ie, practically everything I write is on the fly. Now you're probably asking if I'm using help to write. If you mean living help, such as other people, then no I don't. If you mean referring to other fics as well as the anime and manga for inspiration, then yes. So you want to know the secret to my ability to write stories? Well, one of my disabilities I talked about in the A/N several chapters ago not only made me anti social, but it strangely gives those who have it a very… Unique perspective of the world. For example, one of the people with this disability was in class and his class was told to draw a picture of a swimming pool. Every single one of his class mates drew the pool from side on, however, he drew the pool from a bird's eye perspective. They were about six years old at the time. That's a lesser example, but basically people with this disability are blessed in a sense with a very creative mind that usually specialises in one area. If you need some better examples, look at Bill Gates and Albert Einstein. Both of them had or have this disability. It was also theorised that Mozart had it as well. It seems that my true strength is in authoring, with a fair bit of it in mechanics, science and Information Technology. So summing it up, my secret is my disability. Although it has its perks, I'd never wish my disability on anyone. Hope this answers your questions.

**xXxAnimeFreekxXx1234:** Well, I had hoped to keep this secret, but this story is going to be the first of a two part series, possibly a three part series, depending on the demands for it. Basically, this story will finish at the end of the 4 year trip, and I will immediately start on the second part. The second part will focus on Naruto and Yukiko's later life. If enough people demand it, I'll turn it into a trilogy or maybe even a four part series with the last one or two parts concentrating almost entirely on the containers of the Rokubi and the Shichibi. At the start of the second story, I'll put the vote up and probably leave it running until the conclusion of the second story.

Anyways, on with the show! As always, I hope that my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read (not including the poor excuses for jokes...)

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 17:

Year One Part II:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Next Morning:**

Gaara awoke groggily to find that Naruto and Yukiko were still by his side. Naruto noticed this and smiled at Gaara.

"Yo! Welcome back to the real world, Gaara. Sleep well?"

Gaara nodded and smiled. Naruto goup and went to the table on the other side of the room.

"Well Gaara, the doctor came in here several minutes ago and said that when you woke up, you're free to go."

Naruto handed Gaara his clothes. Naruto nodded to Yukiko and they both walked to the door.

"Gaara, Naruto-Kun and I will wait outside the door for you to get changed. Once you've changed, we'll go back to your office, ok?"

Gaara nodded and waited until the door had been closed and proceeded to change. Once he had, he opened the door and walked out. Outside was Sora, who grinned at the trio and took up her position next to Yukiko. Once they got out the front door, they turned towards the Kazekage Tower, however they stopped when they heard the sound of Gaara's stomach growling. As if on queue, Naruto thought about how hungry he was and his stomach let forth a simmilar growl. Yukiko just giggled and smiled.

"Well, it seems that we're all hungry. How about we get something to eat?"

Naruto thought about one thing and one thing only. IT.

"I could go for some ramen right about now."

Gaara looked at Naruto questioningly.

"Ramen?"

Naruto stoped. He litterally froze. He slowly turned to Gaara with a look of shock, horror and disbelief at the single word that Gaara had spoken like it was some kind of curse that would end his life.

"Are you saying you've never heard of ramen?"

Gaara nodded his head. Naruto lost it. He leapt at Gaara and took his hand, dragging him towards the nearest person. Everyone who saw this looked at Gaara in confusion. Why did Gaara let himself be pulled by this boy like that? They were answered when Naruto approached the closest man with a look of desperation on his face.

"Where's the closest ramen stand!"

The man looked at Naruto dumbly.

"Ramen stand?"

"Yes! Quickly! I need to make Gaara experience the wonder that is ramen!"

The man thought about it, before he pointed down the street.

"Um, there's a good ramen stand about three intersections down the road. You can't miss it."

"Thanks!"

Naruto ran in the direction the man had pointed, dragging Gaara behind him. Sora and Yukiko followed laughing at the spectacle. When Naruto found the stand, he charged in, surprising everyone in the store. When the owner of the stand noticed Naruto he questioned him.

"Can I help you?"

"I need forty bowls of ramen, STAT!"

Everyone in the store looked at him in confusion. He could eat forty bowls of ramen? Who was he?

"Forty bowls? Are you sure you can eat that much?"

"I can't, but I'm splitting it up between Yukiko-Chan, Sora, Gaara and myself."

The others now seemed to notice for the first time that the Kazekage was attached to the boy's hand, and that two very attractive girls had just walked in. The owner of the stand got to work.

"Forty bowls of ramen it is then! Any particular preferences?"

Naruto looked over the menu.

"I'll take 5 of everything!"

The man smiled and got to work.

"5 bowls of everything, coming right up! By the way, you wouldn't happen to be Uzumaki Naruto would you?"

"Yeah, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I think you know an old class mate of mine."

"Class mate?"

"His name is Teuchi. Apparently, he set up a ramen stand in Konoha... I think he called it Ichiraku."

"You mean Ojisan? Yeah, I know him! He makes the best ramen ever!"

"Ah hah hah hah, so you do know him. He tells me that you could keep the store going by yourself if you were the only person to eat there."

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I used to eat there at least once a day... Ano, is your ramen as good as his?"

"I can't really answer that. However, when we went to the same ramen school, and our marks in the final exam were about the same."

"So that means that you make ramen that's as good as Ojisan!"

The old man smiled. He finished with the first four bowls and put them in front of the four of them.

"Well, since it's for the Kazekage and my old friend's best customer, this is on the house. Eat up!"

Naruto and Yukiko smiled at the man, while Gaara took a pair of chopsticks. He split them and took his first mouthful. Once he slurped the noodles up, Gaara's eyes widened and he started eating very quickly. Naruto, Yukiko and Sora laughed.

"Like it Gaara?"

Gaara stopped and nodded furiously before going back to his ramen. Naruto and Yukiko gave a smirk and a quiet:

"Yatta."

The other three took chopsticks and said their usual pre-dinner statement.

"ITADAKIMASU!"

The three of them dug in. After a while, they had finished their ten bowls, they realised they were all still hungry. Naruto looked at his three companions and smirked.

"I make a bet with you guys. We all have to keep ordering ramen. The first person to fill up has to pay for all the ramen eaten after our first ten bowls. Are you in?"

Yukiko grinned evilly. Sora did something similar. Gaara just smirked.

"I'm in."

"So am I."

They turned to Gaara awaiting his decision. Gaara nodded his head to show he was in. Naruto smiled and turned to the owner.

"Ok, keep those bowls of ramen coming!"

The old man smiled and got back to work. By now, a small crowd had gathered to see what all the noise was about. Once the first bowls were placed in front of them, Naruto smiled.

"May the best Jinchuriki win!"

People stared. These three were all like Gaara? They turned back and watched the four of them chow down.

Half an hour later, about half of Suna had gathered around, staring at the contest. Each had their own method to try and win. Gaara was just enjoying the taste and tried to get it down as fast as possible. Yukiko, while enjoying the taste, was using the exact opposite method. She was trying to eat as slowly as possible, using an old trick to let her stomach digest as much of it as possible before the next lot came. Sora was apparently doing something half way in between Gaara and Yukiko. Naruto was matching Gaara's pace, mouthful for mouthful. At bowl number 19, Sora slumped.

"Sorry everyone, I'm out."

The other three smiled and kept going. While Sora had been on her 19th, everyone else was on a different number. Yukiko was on 16, while Naruto and Gaara were tied in first with 25. They turned back to eating. Yukiko reached 19 and willed herself to eat just one more, putting herself in third place. Gaara and Naruto noticed that Yukiko was now out of it, as she pushed herself away from the stand.

"Ok guys, I'm out. Good luck to both of you."

Naruto and Gaara smiled. They turned back and consumed another three bowls each. They were now tied at 28 bowls. Naruto and Gaara turned and stared at each other, as if sizing the opponent up. Naruto broke into a grin.

"One more bowl, and we'll be equal to my record. Ready for another round?"

Gaara smirked.

"Let's go."

They both got their next bowl and dug in. Gaara and Naruto finished it and then began the staring match again. After a minute, Naruto smirked, and Gaara's will broke.

"You win once again, Uzumaki Naruto. First, I lost to you on the battle field, and now I lose to you in an eating contest. It seems you're destined to beat me every time we clash."

Naruto smiled and weighed his options. He turned back to the old man.

"One more."

The old man stared at him.

"But you've won! Why do you want to eat more?"

"I may have won this eating contest, but there is always one eating contest I can never truly win. Beating my own record. I'm going to try and break it now."

The old man smiled.

"What will it be?"

Naruto thought for a moment.

"My old favorite. One bowl of miso-pork ramen with a boiled egg please."

The old man turned back to the stove and began preparing it. Once it was prepared, he put in front of Naruto.

"If you manage to eat this bowl, I will consider this whole meal on the house."

Naruto broke into a huge grin.

"Thanks!"

Good luck."

By now three quarters of Suna had gathered. People were on rooves, and crowding the streets. Naruto dug in. The last bowl was painstakingly slow. After 5 minutes, Naruto pulled the last of the noodles out of the bowl and swallowed them. Now, the biggest task, to drink the soup. He picked the bowl up and slowly drank the soup. Everyone held their breath. No one dared to breathe, lest they break his concentration. Finally, Naruto put the bowl down. It was empty. Naruto held up his hand.

"I win."

People broke out into cheering and rounds of applause. Naruto sighed, very content with himself and fell over backwards. Yukiko however was expecting him to do this and caught him.

"Good job, Naruto-Kun."

Yukiko gave Naruto a light kiss and watched as he dropped off to sleep. (Hey, eating makes you sleepy, and he hadn't slept for two days since Gaara came into the hospital.) Gaara got out of his seat and picked Naruto up. He created three clouds of sand and transported them to the hospital.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Back at the Hospital:**

Gaara pushed open the doors of the hospital and walked up to the nurse behind the desk.

"Kazekage-Sama! Is Naruto-San ok?"

"He's ok, he just... Ate a bit much."

"So I heard. 30 bowls was it?"

"Yes."

The nurse smiled, and pressed a button.

"Yes?"

"We've got the contestants from the ramen eating contest here. One of them had passed out from overeating."

"Ok, I'll have a doctor bring a bed down."

"Ok."

The nurse behind the counter waited and then a few minutes later, a doctor came down with a bed. She smiled at Gaara.

"Kazekage-Sama, please put Naruto-San on the bed."

Gaara laid Naruto down with care, while the three of them follwed the nurse as she pushed the bed to a spare room. Once Naruto was there, the nurse checked over him.

"How is he?"

"He'll be fine. Some people never cease to amaze me, however right now he just needs to rest. He'll probably wake up in a while. However, I think we should restrict food for at least the rest of the day."

Gaara nodded and decided to sit down on one of the chairs beside the bed. Yukiko and Sora took the seats beside him. They all waited patiently for Naruto to wake up. Several hours later, Naruto woke up to find his three closest friends sitting beside him. Naruto smiled, and Yukiko gave him a hug.

"Feeling better, Naruto-Kun?"

"Yeah."

At that point a nurse walked into the room. She smiled at Naruto and checked his blood pressure, temperature and his eyes. She smiled.

"How are you feeling, Naruto-San?"

Naruto looked up at her sheepishly.

"Um… Kinda peckish actually…"

The nurse looked at him in confusion.

"Three hours ago you ate thirty bowls of ramen, and now you're PECKISH? How do you manage to keep yourself from starving on missions? You're hunger rivals the Akamichi's of Konoha…"

Naruto laughed nervously. Yukiko answered for the nurse.

"Being a demon container has its disadvantages too. One of the most apparent ones is that we have a very large metabolism. Really, it's not surprising Naruto-Kun's actually hungry."

The nurse smiled.

"If only I could study you and find out what causes the rapid regeneration and accelerated metabolism… If only we could temporarily transfer the Bijus to other people to help with their recovery…"

The nurse had just unknowingly committed one of the biggest taboos of a demon container. She noticed that the four of them were now very still and barely containing their anger. Gaara spoke up for them.

"Do not EVER suggest anything about removing the bijus again. We have to live in constant fear for our lives due to a group of people known as Akatsuki whose goals are exactly that, however, their reason for it is not to heal, but to make themselves invincible so they can dominate the world. Removing a biju will not only kill the original container, but it will immediately kill the one it is transplanted into without advanced techniques."

The nurse cringed as her leader chewed her out. She stuttered before eventually forming coherent words.

"I'm… Sorry… Kazekage-Sama…"

Gaara in a rare display of mercy nodded.

"It's fine, it's not public knowledge. However, if another member of this hospital ever brings that subject up again to me or any of my friends, I will have to restrain myself from just releasing them from their duties. Make sure the other staff members are informed of this."

The nurse nodded and walked out of the room as quickly as dignity could allow. Naruto turned to Gaara.

"Was it really necessary to go that far, Gaara?"

"If you were the Hokage, and one of the nurses said it to your best friend while you were watching them recover, would you do any less?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment.

"I guess you're right."

Gaara merely nodded. Sora tried to get off the depressing subject.

"Let's just drop this for now; I'd rather not talk about it."

The other three nodded. Naruto yawned, and laid back on the bed. Yukiko smiled understandingly at Naruto.

"Ready for your second snooze?"

"Yeah. By the time I wake up, I should be pretty hungry."

Yukiko smiled in understanding. She kissed Naruto on the forehead.

"Sleep well, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto smiled and dropped back to sleep. Yukiko smiled and decided to sleep in the chair next to Naruto's bed. It seems the others had decided to take similar positions in their chairs. They all tried to dose off in these slightly uncomfortable positions.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Next Morning:**

Naruto awoke to sunlight streaming in through the window and landing on his face. He stretched and yawned. This woke his three full time visitors. They smiled at him.

"Morning, Naruto-Kun."

"Morning, Yukiko-Chan."

They gave each other a small kiss before Naruto turned to Gaara.

"Ano, Gaara?"

"Yes?"

"Don't you normally have a mountain of paper work to do?"

"Strangely, I find the paper work aspect of being Kazekage to be one of the easier parts of the job to handle."

Naruto stared at Gaara as if he was clinically insane.

"NANI!"

Yukiko clapped his hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Naruto-Kun, please keep it down, this is a hospital!"

Yukiko slowly retracted her hand from his mouth.

"Eh heh heh, sorry Yukiko-Chan…"

"Don't worry."

At this point, a nurse came into the room to check what the noise was about. Obviously, it wasn't the nurse from yesterday afternoon. She smiled at Naruto.

"Ah, Naruto-San, you're awake."

The nurse looked at the chart attached to the end of Naruto's bed. After about thirty seconds, she put the clipboard back in it's original position and smiled.

"Well, you've made a full recovery. I'm still required to do some basic checkups and then we can discharge you."

The nurse took his blood pressure, checked his temperature, and checked his eyes. After she was satisfied, she stepped back.

"Well, you pass all the tests. You can leave when you're ready."

Naruto got out of bed and found he was in one of those damn hospital gowns. He grumbled before walking over to his clothes. Yukiko and the others gave him some privacy to change. Once Naruto came out of the room, he turned to Yukiko and gave her a hug. Just then, he realised something that should have been plainly obvious.

"Ano, where's Ero-Sennin?"

Everyone stopped, thinking about it. After a few seconds everyone had a fairly good idea where he was, Gaara however had a question.

"Ero-Sennin?"

Yukiko laughed.

"He means Jiraya-Sensei, the older man he came in with. His reputation… Precedes him, so to speak."

Gaara looked confused.

"He's a perverted hermit?"

Naruto snorted.

"Perverted isn't the right word, it's too modest. He himself describes himself as a super pervert. Where is the local hot springs in Suna?"

Gaara was caught of guard by the quest, but he answered.

"Not too far from here. Why do you ask?"

Yukiko answered.

"Take us there and you'll see why."

Gaara nodded and led them out the doors of the hospital towards the local hot springs.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Several Minutes Later, at Said Hot Springs:**

Gaara, Naruto, Yukiko and Sora walked up to the front door of the hot springs. Gaara was abut to enter when Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. Gaara turned to look at Naruto questioningly.

"He won't be inside. Follow me."

Naruto took the lead, and started walking around the structure. Pretty soon, they heard giggles and when they moved closer to the noise, they heard the faint scribbling of pen on paper. When they rounded the corner, they saw none other then our favourite super pervert peaking in through a small hole in the wall to the women's baths. Sora looked shocked, Naruto and Yukiko sighed and Gaara barely contained himself. Naruto looked at hi friends and gave them a smirk. He silently approached Jiraiya and put a hand on his shoulder, startling Jiraiya. Naruto said loud enough for the girls in the bath to hear him.

"Neh, Ero-Sennin. You shouldn't be looking into the women's baths."

The women stopped when they heard this and ran out of the baths screaming and attempting to cover their bodies. Jiraiya groaned, knowing what was coming next. He tried to run away, hoever, Gaara pinned Jiraiya to the wall with sand. After a few minutes, the girls came out fully dressed, and looked for the culprit. The four demon containers pointed to a man pinned to the wall.

"He's the one you want."

The girls proceeded to pound him, giving him several large bumps on the head. Once they felt they beat him up enough, they left and Gaara let the shackles of sand go, dropping the very sore super pervert to the ground. Said super pervert groaned and sat up, rubbing his head gingerly.

"Naruto, do you always have to do that?"

Naruto shook his head. Gaara stepped up.

"For what reason were you peeking into the women's baths?"

Yukiko and Naruto knew where this was going. They cringed as he brought out his well known book, Icha Icha Paradise.

"I'm the author of the Icha Icha series, and so I peek to give me inspiration for my latest novel."

Gaara held out his hand.

"Give them to me."

Jiraiya suddenly tried to hide the 'holy grail' that was to become the next book in the series. However, Gaara shot san out to encase his wrists and pulled his hand out and applied pressure, forcing Jiraiya to drop the notes. Gaara nodded to Sora.

"If you would be so kind."

Jiraiya looked horrified again.

"You wouldn't do that!"

Sora smirked.

"I think we would."

Jiraiya could only watch hopelessly as Sora focused her charka and shot out a small lightening bolt from her finger, frazzling the notes. Jiraiya dropped to the ground.

"NOOOOOOO! NOT AGAIN!"

Naruto felt rather proud.

"Ero-Sennin, if you're really a ninja, then gather information so that you won't be caught. Isn't that one of the things that makes a good shinobi?"

Jiraiya just scowled and walked away sulking. Sora gave Naruto and Yukiko a high five. Gaara wondered what this strange notion meant.

"What was that?"

Naruto answered.

"Eh? The high five? Well, when you accomplish something, one of the ways a person can congratulate you is by clapping their hand against yours, which is called a high five. It's considered cool."

"Cool…"

Yukiko just snickered and threw her hands up in the air in mock defeat.

"You still have so much to learn, Gaara. If you weren't the Kazekage, I'd force Suna to let you come with us for the rest of our 4 year journey."

"I wish I could…"

Naruto suddenly got one of his half bakes ideas. Ones that never work on paper, but always work when he executes them.

"Hey! Why don't we get Gaara to come with us? It'll be great!"

Yukiko sighed.

"Then who will be Kazekage while Gaara's gone?"

Naruto thought about this.

"Eh, why not get Kankuro and Temari to do it? I mean, it can't be THAT hard! If Gaara gets the job done by himself, two people could get it done twice as quickly right?"

"I once left Kankuro in charge for 3 days while I went on a diplomatic mission to an outlying village. When I got back, he had barely done any paper work, and he had neglected most of his duties. Temari is not the type to do much better. She hates paperwork with a passion."

"Well, why not get Kankuro to do the job, and have Temari looking over him? I'm sure you have at least one personal assistant to help you, Gaara."

"Gaara thought about it."

"I guess that's possible. However, I still want to make sure that they are capable."

"Well, why don't we leave Suna for the rest of the time we're staying in the Wind Country, and when we come back, we'll see if they can do it."

"How long are you planning on staying here?"

"Almost another 3 and a half months."

Gaara thought about this.

"I still can't give you a yes or no answer. I would have to take this up with the council and get their permission first, which could take at least two days."

Naruto smiled.

"Well, there's only one way to find out!"

With that, the four friends went off to the Kazekage's office."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Yay another one out of the way. Anyways, thanks for all your votes for the previous vote. Now onto the next one. This will be a shorter vote, as it will decide if Gaara is going to take long service leave to go with his friends. Here are your options:

**(A):** Yes, Gaara will join the others for the rest of the four year journey: 1

**(B):** No, Gaara will not go on the rest of the four year journey with his friends: 0

First to five wins!

Well, until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	22. Breaking of the Seals

**A/N:** Hi Everybody! 'Waits for the reply.' HI DOCTOR NICK! Next chapter, I'm going to introduce the last of the OC demon containers, the container for Shichibi no Suzoku. I'm probably going to make it another female. Due to the demon being made of fire, I'm going to make it a red head. (In my world, Gaara has a fetish for red heads… he he he he) Well, I'll go over some stuff and things.

Yo! Sorry I'm late, I had to fight off a group of wild pidgeons on the way here. They were very dangerous and they almost pecked my eye out. Kakashi. 3 the person who used that as one of their Kakashi excuses in their fic. You know, I turned up three hours late to a class yesterday and when I came in, I used that excuse word for word, due to the lack of any real excuse other than laziness. You know what? Either my acting was so good or due to the fact that someone even attempted such a corny excuse, the teacher actually accepted it! So whoever invented that excuse, please contact me, because from now on, you're my personal excuse generator. Lol, j/k...

BTW, I have a question. A fox calls a it's young a kit, a cat calls it's young a kitten, a phoenix would call it's young a fledgling, but... What would a Tanuki (Shukaku) and a badger call its young? If anyone can come up with either or both of the answers, please let me know.

Also, if you want to know where I draw about 80 percent of my inspiration on this site, I suggest that you look up NekoGuyFan's fic, 'Through a Dragon's Eye'. Very good fic of Naruto and OC character pairing. With the next chapter, she'll break the 100k word mark, so good luck NekoGuyFan, keep it up! Also, please check your mail Neko, as I sent you a PM. (Not quite sure if you've got it yet, as I'm not sure how to check for replies to PMs…)

This is going to be a mix between an intermediate chapter and a regular one, as I'm going to give you guys and girls a bio on the two OC demon containers and Gaara, because of that question I posted above. I'm going to start researching into it, because I'm going to start having Shukaku, Raiju (Rokubi) and Suzaku start talking to their containers. Since I already use 'kit' when the Kyubi is referring to Naruto and 'kitten' when Nibi is referring to Yukiko almost every sentence they say, it would look weird if I didn't do it with the other three. So please help me in my search for the answers!

Oh! And I just found out something BIG! Some of you are aware of the anime filler ark part where Naruto, Lee, Tenten and Neji went to Katabame Kinzan (you know, the place where the Kuroski family were in charge) Well, I was just researching some moves that Raiga had in an attempt to see if I could use some of them for Sora, and the first attack he uses is called Ninpou, Ikazuchi no Kiba. The translation up the top of the screen did not translate the word Ikazuchi, so I went looking for it's meaning. We were told in the beginning that Raiga was part of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, as was Kisame. Kisame is now part of Akatsuki. What does this have to do with the technique's name you ask? Well, I typed it into Wikipedia and I found out it meant thunder, but it was also the name of a Japanese WW2 destroyer. Want to know what its class of destroyer was? Akatsuki class. Coincidental? I THINK NOT!

According to the latest episode of Anime, there is a summoning contract for marine life. Sure, it's not 'Canon', but I think it would fit perfectly for Kisame, as the boss is, you guessed it, a shark.

Now for the reviews/comments:

**Ki master:** Ah, thank you. I am essentially doing this full time now, as Uni is becoming so stressful that I've started suffering serious physical side effects from the stress, namely, vomiting, coughing up blood (as well as black blood) complete loss of appetite, frequent headaches, insomnia and all around ill health. That's why I've essentially had to quit. If I kept going, it wouldn't have been long until I ended up in hospital. It's unfortunate that I can't keep it up, but I was also having frequent and vicious arguments with my parents and brother. However, I only started doing it full time at the start of this week, so like the first 19 or so chapters were done while I was still at Uni.

**Katana Haibane:** Well, although you didn't write a full review according to yourself, I still thank you for your kind words. It's reviews like yours that keep me going. Like Regal from Tales of Symphonia said when Lloyd complements him on his cooking, it's complements that make the form of art (whether it be writing, cooking, drawing, etc) worthwhile and enjoyable.

The vote was practically a no contest. 1 vote for B and 5 for A. So, Gaara is off on long service leave!

Now for the Bios:

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**Name:** Saito Sora

**Age:** 13

**Birthday:** October 29th

**Bloodtype:** B

**Height:** 5' 1"

**Weight:** 92 LBS

**Affiliation:** Formerly of the Cloud, now a Hidden Nin.

**Rank:** Formally a Genin, currently has power equal to a Special Jounin.

**Trademark Techniques:** Raiton: Raizou Ikazuchi wo utte (Lightening Type: Lightning Strike), Raikyuu (Lightning Ball. Imagine Chidori + Rasengan in appearance, not in strength though.) Eventually, Chidori(as a training stage), Rakiri & Oodama Raikiri (Oh come on, they're so close to Raiton jutsus that I just HAD to include them, plus they're like the epitome of Raiton jutsus. This is one thing I'm not backing down on. It will be called Raikiri when she uses it because of her natural affinity for lightning. Chidori is an A rank technique, while Kakashi's Raikiri is considered an S rank technique Oodama Rakiri will probably be considered SS rankIs there such a thing? Basically, as with Naruto's Oodama Rasengan, Sora must use Rokubi's chakra to form it, while using a shadow clone to help stabilize the immense power output. Apparently, Sasuke calls it Chidori because he can't achieve the same level of power that Kakashi can when he uses it.)

**Known Techniques:** Raiton: Rairyuu no Tatsumaki (Lightening Type: Lightening Dragon Tornado) Raiton: Raigeki no Yoroi (Lightning Type: Lightning Armour) Raizou Soso (Lightning Funeral... I think... In dedication to Raiga and his fetish for funerals.) Kuchiyose no Jutsu (no explination needed) Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Youmane Ninpou: Jintai Niku(Demon Mimicry Ninja Technique: Human Meat), Dead Demon Seal (lvls 1 – 6)

**Preferred Fighting Style:** Kenjutsu + Ninjutsu (uh huh, she uses swords, although according to me, they were lost/destroyed before Naruto found her. She'll get another pair before she leaves Suna.)

**Aquaintances:** Uzumaki Naruto, Yakushi Yukiko, Sabakyu no Gaara, Yamamoto Hotaru, Jiraiya, Uchiha Itachi, Hoshgake Kisame.

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**UPDATED PROFILE:**

**Name:** Yakushi Yukiko

**Age:** 13

**Birthday:** October 10th

**Bloodtype:** AB

**Height:** 4' 7"

**Weight:** 83 LBS

**Affiliation:** Formerly of the Snow, now the Leaf

**Rank:** Officially Chunin, although has power somewhere between Special Jounin and Sanin.

**Trademark Techniques:** Kuchiyose no Jutsu, Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Chakra Scalpel.

**Known Techniques:** Death Type: Soul Syphon, Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Taitou za Bachiatari, Mokuton Hijutsu: Jyukai Koudan, Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Technique), Mokuton: Moku Juheki (Wood Type: Wood Locking Wall), Mokuton: Shichuka no Jutsu (Wood Type: Four Pillars Wooden House Technique HELL YEAH! NO MORE OUTDOOR CAMPING, Muzi Bunshin, Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu, Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu, Suiton: Suijinheki, Suiton: Teppodama (Water Type: Gunshot), Acid Bomb, Acid Cannon, Healing Type: Grand Healing Technique, Death Type: Drain Life, Death Type: Drain Chakra Healing Type: Healing Wind, Youmane Ninpou: Jintai Niku(Demon Mimicry Ninja Technique: Human Meat), Dead Demon Seal (Lvls 1 & 2)

**Preferred Fighting Style:** Ninjutsu.

**Acquaintances:** Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Nibi, Saito Sora, Sabaku no Gaara, Yamamoto Hotaru, Jiraiya.

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**Name:** Sabaku no Gaara.

**Age:** 14

**Birthday:** January 19th

**Bloodtype:** AB

**Height:** 5' 2"

**Weight:** 104 LBS

**Affiliation:** Sand

**Rank:** Kazekage

**Trademark Techniques:** Sabaku Kyu, Sabaku Soso, Futon: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa, Futon: Renkudan

**Known Techniques:** Sabaku Fyuy, Ryusa Bakuryu, Sabaku Taiso, Sabakuro, Saiko Zettai Bogyo: Shukaku no Tate, Suna Bunshin, Suna Shuriken, Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Not just yet, but soon), Youmane Ninpou: Jintai Niku(Demon Mimicry Ninja Technique: Human Meat), Dead Demon Seal (Lvl 1 only)

**Preferred Fighting Style:** Ninjutsu

**Acquaintances:** Baki, Temari, Kankuro, Yondaime Kazekage, Uzumaki Naruto, Yakushi Yukiko, Saito Sora, Yamamoto Hotaru, Jiraiya.

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**Name:** Yamamoto Hotaru.

**Age:** 14

**Birthday:** September 3rd

**Bloodtype:** O

**Height:** 4' 9"

**Weight:** 93 LBS

**Affiliation:** None, technically a Missing Nin, will be a Hidden Nin.

**Rank:** Official rank unknown, although she has power equal to a Tokubetsu (special) Jounin

**Trademark Techniques:** Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu, Fire Type: Wings of the Phoenix, Healing Type: Phoenix Tears.

**Known Techniques: **Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu, Katon, Ryuka no Jutsu, Katon: Karyudan, Katon: Karyu Endan, Katon: Kasumi Engo no Jutsu (Fire Type: Covering Mist Technique), Healing Type: Seirei Tensei(Pure Soul Reserection), Healing Type: Phoenix Feathers, Healing Type, Kiss of Life, Healing Type: Phoenix Tears,Mach Punch, Fire Punch, Fire Kick,Tayjuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Youmane Ninpou: Jintai Niku(Demon Mimicry Ninja Technique: Human Meat), Dead Demon Seal (Lvls 1 to 7)

**Preferred Fighting Style:** Ninjutsu & Taijutsu.

**Acquaintances:** Uzumaki Naruto, Yakushi Yukiko, Saito Sora, Sabaku no Gaara, Jiraiya.

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Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 19:

The Breaking of the Seals:

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**The Next Morning, in Naruto and Yukiko's Room:**

Naruto was half way in between waking up and dreaming. He was having a rather pleasant dream of what his birthday would be like this year. Just as he cut the cake and saw the knife come out dirty and leaned in for his kiss, he felt a short sharp pain in his navel and heard an audible _CRACK_. Naruto was startled out of his dream and back into the real world. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Yukiko was also sitting up, with a look of pure horror on her face. Naruto became wary, but sensed no enemies present. However he soon heard in the back of his mind a very familiar voice.

'_**Oi kit. Come down to the cage. There's something you should see.'**_

Naruto immediately went into his time warping state that happened every time he visited his tenant. When he got there he saw the fox looking rather smug.

"**Hey Kit. Look at the seal."**

Naruto did so and saw nothing unusual.

"So? I don't see anything wrong with it."

The demon laughed.

"**Look closer."**

Naruto stepped right up to the seal and looked at it. To his horror, he saw a small crack in it.

"**Know what that means, kit?"**

"The seal… Is weakening…"

"**Exactly. I guess even the oh so great Yondaime Hokage can't keep me contained forever. It seems that I'll be free of this cage soon enough."**

"Heh, I won't let you free."

The demon just laughed.

"**You may be strong brat, but you aren't even at your father's level, and he had to sacrifice his life to seal me away for 14 years. What could you possibly hope to achieve?"**

For once, Naruto didn't have an answer. The fox had a point. Pressing his advantage, the fox decided to strike a nerve.

"**And once I get free, guess what my first target is?"**

Naruto looked at the fox in pure anger.

"Konoha? You bastard!"

The fox sneered.

"**That's right. You should be happy, considering how badly everyone treated us there. I'm carrying out the vengeance you were to weak to implement."**

"I'm not weak! I never wanted vengeance! If you do anything to Sasuke, Sakura-Chan, Kakashi-Sensei, Iruka-Sensei or Ojisan, I'll-"

"**You'll what? You'll be long dead by the time I even get to Konoha. The second I get free, you die."**

Naruto slumped. He'd been totally and utterly defeated. He had to find some way of strengthening the seal. The fox read him like a book.

"**Try all you want, you'll never strengthen the seal. Since this seal has only started cracking, I'd say it'll be fully destroyed on your 14th birthday. I'll tell you what. I'll make you one last deal. I won't help the seal break until midnight on October 10. I'll give you all day to spend with your precious Yukiko_-Chan_."**

The fox said the suffix in such a way so as it was physically impossible not to notice the amount of scorn attached to it. The fox sneered.

"**Now go away, I'm going to plan what to do once I get free. Go enjoy the last few months of your life, if you can."**

The fox sent Naruto back to the real world with a fit of evil laughter that would put Orochimaru to shame. Once Naruto woke up, he looked at Yukiko. Yukiko was smiling sadly at him.

"4 months…"

"Is Nibi's seal cracking too?"

"Yes…"

Naruto pulled Yukiko into a tight hug. At that point, their door flew open and Sora and Jiraiya burst into the room.

"What was that spike in charka? Are you two ok?"

Jiraiya noticed the two looking at him with the look of someone who was staring death in the face. Finally, Yukiko spoke up.

"The seals… Are breaking…"

Both Jiraiya and Sora's eyes widened. Jiraiya however, didn't believe them. He walked up to Naruto.

"That's impossible. Every seal Arashi ever created was fool proof. Not one of his seals ever failed in their tasks. Let me see it."

Naruto focused some charka. Slowly, the seal began to appear. However, instead of the entire seal being the usual black colour, one small part of the pattern was blood red. Jiraiya had no choice to believe that Naruto and Yukiko were telling the truth. He sighed and stepped back. At that point, Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand in the middle of the room.

"What were those charka spikes?"

Gaara waited for an answer, however none were forthcoming.

"Well?"

Finally, Jiraiya answered.

"Their seals are breaking."

Gaara's eyes widened.

"Breaking? Will that mean that Kyubi and Nibi will be free again?"

Naruto nodded.

"How long do we have?"

"About 4 months."

"4 months to live? Can we fix the seals somehow?"

Naruto sadly shook his head.

"If my dad could only manage to seal Kyubi for 14 years at the cost of his life, it's unlikely that I could do much better…"

"You're giving up?"

"No. I'm going to research it, however I don't think there's a solution. I'm going to consult my 'Seal Eye', and see if there is."

Naruto activated his 'Seal Eye' and began sifting through the knowledge of seals that suddenly flooded his brain. He specifically focussed on the Shikifujin. Gaara nodded and turned to the door.

"I will have my medical staff consult our records and knowledge of seals. If they find anything, you will be informed immediately. Good luck."

Naruto nodded, and began focusing again. Everyone besides Yukiko decided to leave him to do his work in peace. Yukiko engaged her own Bloodline Limit and looked at Naruto's seal, trying to see if she could spot anything wrong with it. After several hours, Naruto disengaged his 'Seal Eye' and half heartedly punched the floor.

"God damn it. There's nothing my current level of 'Seal Eye' can tell me about what is happening. According to it, this should be physically impossible… I don't know what to do…"

Yukiko disengaged her Doujutsu as well.

"I can't make any sense of it either…"

Naruto gave Yukiko one of his cover up grins.

"Well, might as well enjoy ourselves…"

Yukiko smiled sadly and got up, grabbing Naruto's hand. Naruto went out the door after her.

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**At Gaara's New Found 'Second Home' (The Ramen Stand):**

Gaara was with Sora, both of them trying to enjoy the Ramen, however, the news of their friend's impending deaths was hampering their attempts to enjoy their meals. The old man running the store noticed this and turned to them.

"Is something wrong, Kazekage-Sama?"

Gaara didn't look up when he answered.

"Yes."

"Want to talk about it?"

"I wish I could, but it's a secret that is best kept from everyone. If people were to find out, the world would be thrown into chaos."

The old man sighed.

"That bad? I take it by the way your acting that it has something to do with Naruto-San and Yukiko-San?"

Gaara nodded.

"Yes, but its best left at that."

"Fair enough. I won't press you for more."

The old man went back to cleaning. He heard two people walk into the shop and turned to greet them, but noticed it was the two people they were just talking about.

"Naruto-San, Yukiko-San, welcome. Would you like a bowl of ramen?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No thanks, Ojisan. I just came to talk to Gaara."

"I see."

Naruto turned to Gaara.

"Gaara, what did the council say about the proposal?"

"Gaara looked up and smiled.

"They gave a conditional agreement."

"What are their conditions?"

"Their first was that I send a report back to the village twice a month with my approximate location and condition of health. Their second was that if Suna or Konoha are forced into an act of war, I am to return immediately and take command over Suna's forces. Their third and final condition is that if any reports are confirmed that Akasuki are moving within the Wind Country's borders, I am to return home."

"Just three conditions, eh? Shouldn't be too hard to deal with."

Gaara nodded.

"When are we leaving, Naruto?"

"We were planning to leave in a little less than four months, however..."

"I understand. When is the new time?"

"We're not sure, but we want to be out of here no later than three weeks from now."

Gaara nodded. Sora looked at Gaara.

"Ano, Gaara?"

"What is it Sora?"

"Um… I specialise in Raiton Jutsus, however to achieve my full potential, I require two specially made swords."

"Specially made?"

"Yes. I had a pair before I was chased out of the Cloud, but when I was chased out, they were in my apartment, and I did not get a chance to retrieve them. The swords are specially made to harness Rokubi's powers over lightning."

"I see. I doubt we can make swords such as those without the schematics."

"I always keep the schematics close to me, as they are very powerful swords."

"Then I will introduce you to the town's main blacksmith, and he should be able to make the swords for you."

"Ano, no blacksmith can make the swords from just any materials. I will not talk about the required materials in public, as they are a closely guarded secret of the Cloud."

"Very well. After we finish this meal, I'll take you to the blacksmith and you can discuss with him how to make them."

"Arigato, Gaara."

"You are welcome.

After the two finished their meal, they went to pay the owner who waved them away.

"It's on the house."

Gaara nodded and Sora smiled.

"Arigato."

They walked outside to where Naruto and Yukiko were waiting. Gaara turned to them.

"Sora needs some specially made custom swords, so we are going to visit the blacksmith. Would you like to come?"

Naruto nodded and took Yukiko's hand. All four of them walked towards the village's best blacksmith.

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**Half an Hour Later, at the Edge of Suna:**

As the four approached, they smelled smoke fire and metal. They also heard the clanging noise of a blacksmith at work. When Gaara opened the dor, the smith looked up.

"Kazekage-Sama! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I am leaving in three weeks with my friends for a two year training trip. One of my friends requires a pair of swords made."

The smith smiled.

"I assume since you came to me instead of going to a weapons store your friend wants a custom made pair of swords?"

"That is correct. However, these are not a normal pair of swords."

The smith frowned.

"Not normal? What makes them special?"

Gaara turned to Sora.

"Sora, I think you could better explain the properties of the swords to the smith."

Sora nodded and looked at the smith.

"I'm sure if I mentioned the sword's names, you would recognise them."

"What are the swords called"

"Fujin and Raijin.(lol, they're both words for thunder)"

The smith's eyes bulged.

"Fujin and Raijin? They're supposed to be legendary swords that were only ever made once in the Cloud for their best warrior. I couldn't possibly reproduce them…"

"Even if I gave you the schematics for them?"

If it was possible, the smith's eyes bulged even more.

"You… You have the schematics? If you have them, I would be honoured to make them!"

Sora smiled and pulled a scroll out of her backpack and handed them to him.

"How much do you want for the creation of them?"

The smith looked up and smiled.

"Normally, creating a pair of swords of this quality with such materials would come with a very high price, however, since it is for a friend of the Kazekage, it's free. Also, being known as the forger of such a pair of swords is payment enough. If knowledge were to get around, I would have a never ending supply of eager customers."

Sora stiffened a little.

"Sorry, but I wish for you to keep the creation of these swords an absolute secret. These swords were created for my grandfather, who passed them to my father, who passed them to me. I would be very resentful if every second person had a pair of what is essentially my family heirloom. It's bad enough that I lost the original pair, meaning that there will be two pairs of them in the world."

The smith bowed deeply.

"My apologies. If I had known these swords were used like that, I would not have made that suggestion. I will not speak about this conversation to anyone other than the four of you."

"Arigato."

The smith smiled as he looked over the plans. Finally he looked up.

"So you will be leaving in three weeks? I can have them ready for you when you leave. I will get to work straight away."

"Thank you very much."

The smith nodded and walked towards the bench.

"I will have to keep these schematics here while I make the swords. Once they are complete, I will return the plans to you with the swords."

"Also, please do not make copies of that schematic."

The smith looked hurt.

"Forgive the rudeness, but I am not the sort of person who would commit such a low act, as it would go against my morals and beliefs."

"I understand, however, with schematics such as those, it is too risky to just assume people won't."

"Completely understandable. If it puts you more at ease, I have forged a sword of almost equal rarity before when I worked in the Mist. You are the first people with this knowledge since the sword was created."

"What type of sword was it?"

The smith shook his head.

"As I have promised you about the secrecy your swords, I promised the man to keep the identity of the sword a secret."

Naruto decided to try a shot.

"Was the sword's name Samehada?"

A brief look of recognition flashed over the man's face before he could steel himself. Naruto shook his head.

"So it was Samehada. Let me tell you what that man is doing with Samehada now. He is killing demon containers with it. As possibly the last four demon containers alive, I think we have a right to know all of its capabilities and weaknesses."

The other three nodded in agreement, but the smith sighed.

"I regret making him the sword, and I wish I could tell you, but a secret is a secret. Whether he is using it for foul purposes or for good, I cannot divulge such information. I am sorry."

Naruto was about to try and force the smith to tell them, but Gaara shook his head.

"Let him be. At least we know now he is trustworthy with the secret of Sora's swords."

Naruto hated to admit it, but Gaara was right. He spoke his mind.

"Just because Gaara has a point, doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I understand, my apologies."

Naruto let out a 'hmph' and walked out. Yukiko followed him and Gaara walked out leaving the smith and Sora in the room. Sora got several cases out of her pack and handed it to him. She pointed to one.

"This box contains a large gem that must be smelted and quickly infused into Raijin during the moulding stage, as it's what gives Raijin its power to convert my demonic chakra into thunder."

The smith nodded and Sora pointed to a second box.

"This contains bars of a rare metallic alloy which is needed to smelt into Fujin. This material must be used for Fujin, but not Raijin. The alloy is a mixture of Aluminium and Gold."

The smith nodded. Sora pointed to the third box.

"This box contains bars of another alloy that must be used for creating Raijin. It is a mixture of Platinum and Silver. Please be careful not to mix the two boxes up."

The smith nodded again. Sora pointed to the last box.

"In this box is another gem. However this gem is needed during the moulding stage of Fujin. This gem, if fused correctly, will let me harness real lightning instead of using charka."

The smith nodded. He took the boxes and inspected the contents. He shook his head in amazement.

"What high quality ingredients… These will possibly the most challenging creations I have ever made."

Sora smiled.

"If you need me for anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

The smith smiled and got to work.

"I should be fine thank you. I'll be at the gates with the swords and the schematic when you leave."

"Thank you again."

"My pleasure."

With that, Sora left the smith to create the legendary swords.

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**A/N:** Yay, another chapter out of the way. Sorry if this was a shorter chapter than my other ones (story wise), but I hope I made up for it with the bios and research. Catch you guys next chapter! Till next time, my avid readers.

Ja ne,

Specula.


	23. Lead up to Doomsday

**A/N:** Yo! Sorry I'm late! I got lost on the road known as life...

Readers: LIAR!

Ahem, anyways... No real notes to put here apart from answers to questions/reviews. Oh and I finally figured I have to go to my registered email address to find my PMs! Sorry for not answering to all you people before, I thought FF would have some sort of pop up box with 'YOU GOT MAIL' or somesuch. Also, I stupidly forgot that Hotaru was a ninjutsu and taijutsu user, not just ninjutsu, so I've updated the bio with the info plus some of her taijutsu moves. Also, she doesn't just specialise in normal taijutsu, let's just say that. BTW, I found out what a badger and a weazel call their young. Seriously, you think with the power of the english language, they could come up with something other than 'kit' for both of them. Also, I found out that 'cub' is what a shark calls it's young. Anywho, Reviews/Questions:

**Katana Haibane:** ARG! I would say I hate you, but I could never hate a reader/fan. You have found my one and only weakness in writing creative literature. My inability to describe things. That was pretty much the only thing that stopped me getting 90 percent or above for my english HSC (aussie equivalent of the Finals) I appologise profusely for my complete inability to put what I see in my mind's eye into words, but I'm almost unable to do it. I could do it, however I would have to review each chapter 10 plus times to make sure I did it right. Basically, how it happens is that my fingers are typing almost non stop until I finish the chapter, so I get what most people would call the bare skeleton down. However, my 'bare skeleton' would be considered by most to be very close to a final copy. I do it so fast because I know if I stop for any length of time to try and describe what I picture in my mind I will lose the flow of the plot, meaning I have to improvise, which all my teachers have said is really bad, even by the average student's standards. All thought my acedemic life, my teachers have always said I lack the ability to describe things. However, recently, I've been trying a new method that I'm surprised didn't come to me earlier. What I do is I do my bare bones, and then go back and describe what I imagined in my mind when I was writing it. The only problem is that last time I tried this, I ended up changing huge chunks of the story, meaning I ended up with one of my sub par creations of literature. However, I think I can fix that with some restraint. I'm almost tempted to get a beta reader, however if I do, I will chose one myself. Damn, sometimes being Ino, Itachi or Kakashi would be useful. (some sort of mind transfer jutsu or Tsukiyomi would be immensly helpful.) Oh and as for everyone hating Gara, if I remember the manga right, when Naruto went to save Gaara, not only did the younger generation love him, and the older ones at least tolerate him, but he actually had a fan club much like one Uchiha Sasuke (not sure about the last one but the first two were definates). In my mind, the Akatsuki attack in my story went exactly like in the manga, however there were two differences. 1: Akatsuki was forced to retreat. 2: It happened almost 2 years earlier than the manga. The actual battle apart from Gaara being knocked unconcious was identical, even Deidra dropping the massive clay bomb onto the village, only to have Gaara send his sand to form a giant shield over the village. I guess the villagers realised that if Gaara would have still been the bloodlusting psychopath he used to be, he would have let the bomb hit the village. Also, Gaara told the village that it was thanks to one Uzumaki Naruto that he had 'seen the light' that meant that you could only become strong when protecting your precious ones, and not when fighting to love only yourself. So the villagers essentially had to thank Naruto for their Godaime Kazekage. As for Gaara's appearances, you guessed exactly what I was going to do. Oh and sorry for spelling your name wrong. Also, as the bios said, they only show their trademark and known techniques, which means that those are the jutsus they are most known for and also what they have been seen to use before, it however, does not mean that is all of their jutsus. I don't include basic stuff like henge, kawarmi etc. Also, since they're demon containers, once they use their dead demon seals (or demonic gates in Naruto's case) they use chakra to form attacks that don't have names, however, they're still damn powerful. Hope this answeres your questions.

**SABOTH:** O.O You seriously think my story's better than the anime and manga? Wow. I'm touched. I really am. I don't know what to say... Um... Thanks? (slash lame (sorry, it's an obscure World of Warcraft reference. Whenever I say slash something, I mean it like this /lame... I really hope that backslash appeared before lame)) I really don't know what to say... I've never had such words said to me before... as Lee and Gai would say at about this time: MY SPIRIT OF YOUTH BURNS BRIGHTLY... or something...

**MoOn-ShInE-LoRd:** He he he. I'm so evil. So you want answers? I'll answer the four possible options you gave me:

A: Incorrect.

B: Incorrect.

C: Incorrect.

D: Incorrect.

OOOOOOOOO! I bet you're curious as to how this is going to pan out now, eh? I think you need to get that Sharingan of yours checked. I'm not going to spoil it, but I think what will come to pass is most logical and believable to everyone... Except gay people. (Sorry, I have nothing against homosexuals, I was using a line from Bonus Stage from another one of my heros, Joel. He seems to have a thing against homosexuals though. Apart from that, he's awesome.) Oh and please don't get the idea that you or anyone can just guess until you get it right. Essentially, you just used up everyone's guesses. Sorry, but you'll have to wait and see.

**God in a box:** Well thank you for that review, much appreciated. You answered a lot of questions I've been trying to find out for a while now, so thanks mate. I hope you do keep reading it, thanks for all the pointers and stuff.

Rokudaime quote for this chapter (OH NOES! I forgot one last chapter...): **NARUTO:** hugs Gaara MY FWIEND! **GAARA:** o.o!

Also if you want to know where Fujin and Raijin came from, there's a small part of the filler ark where Mizuki. Mizuki had two acomlices, the legendary stupid brothers, Fujin and Raijiun. They were, as Naruto called them, a few noodles short or a ramen bowl, however, as strong a a sannin.

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure too read. (I'm gonna REALLY try this chapter to take Katana Haibane's point on board. Coming from a fan meant so much more than coming from a teacher.)

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 20:

Lead up to Doomsday:

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**3 Weeks Later, Out the Front of Suna:**

It was 5 am in the morning on the 3rd of July. The morning sun was threatening to spill it's light over the desert surrounding Suna any at moment. There was no wind or storms, making for the perfect opportunity to leave. The group had decided a policy of mimimum fuss was best, so only those closest to the four demon containers were allowed to see them off. This consisted mainly of Baki, Temari, Kankuro and the blacksmith. Although the smith wasn't close to them, he still was required to give Sora her swords. The smith approached Sora.

"I'm sorry for taking so long. Please inspect the swords to see if they are to your liking."

Sora smiled and accepted the swords from the smith. The swords were wrapped in a silk bag, as was customary when blacksmiths handed swords to their owner after forging them. Sora carefully undid the string that held the bags closed and pulled the swords out of their bags. The swords were in scabards. Unlike traditional Japanese swords however, these swords were perfectly straight, not curved. Sora looked over the beautifully decorated scabards. Raijin was held in a mainly black scabard with intricate gold designs etched into the sides. Fujin's scabbard was a mirror image of Raijin's. Sora unsheathed Raijin slowly. The sword's blade was silverish with a hint of blue from the platinum in it. Sora pointed the sword away from everyone and conerntraited a small amount of her demonic chakra into it. The blade began to crackle with electricity, Sora held the sword up in the air, whispering the name of her technique.

"Raiton: Raizou Ikazuchi wo utte!"

The electricity around the sword began to leave the sword, forming an arc. Like a dragon rearing it's head, the arc's end came up and shot towards a lone tree nearby. When the lightening hit the tree, the general vicinity around the tree exploded and vaporised. Once the smoke cleared, there was a small crater, of which, the base had turned to glass. Sora beamed.

"Perfect. I won't test Fujin here, because I think calling forth a vicious thunder storm will make Suna think something is up, but I have no doubts it will work just as flawlessly as Raijin did. Good job."

The smith bowed and smiled, his face forming smile wrinkles showing his age.

"Thank you for your kind words. I wish you all the best of luck on your journey."

With that, the smith made his way back inside Suna. Sora sheathed Raijin and attached it and Fujin to her belt. She turned back to her friends as they were talking to Gaara's siblings and Sensei. Baki spoke up.

"As much as the people of Suna want you to stay, Gaara, I think it would be good for you to go out and experience what the world has to offer. The only request I will make is that you bring yourself home safe."

Gaara nodded.

"I will make sure I do, Sensei. Please make sure that Kankuro and Temari do their jobs properly."

Baki smiled and nodded. Temari turned to Naruto.

"Naruto. I want you to take care of our little brother. If he gets hurt, you'll wish your journey never ended, because when you get back here, I will tourture you in ways that will leave you begging for mercy."

Naruto laughed and smiled.

"With the four of us watching his back, he'll be fine. No need to worry."

Kankuro decided to say something to his little brother.

"Hey Gaara. I hope by the time you come back these guys will have brought you out of your shell somewhat."

Gaara was puzzled by this, and tilted his head to the side in what was getting to be a very familiar manner.

"Shell?"

Kankuro face faulted. He quickly recovered though and smiled.

"Yeah. I hope by the time you come back, you won't be so reserved in showing your emotions."

Gaara nodded. Temair decided to try something that not so long ago, she wouldn't have dared to do. She approached Gaara and put her arms around him. Gaara stiffend slightly, before he instinctivly wrapped his arms around his sister. Temari wispered so only he could hear.

"Be safe, brother. I expect you to come back from your journey with a girl you like."

Gaara litterally went OO Temari let go of Gaara and smiled. With everything out of the way that needed to be said, the four Jinchuriki faced the others and smiled. Finally, Jiraiya called to the four of them.

"Ok guys, let's go!"

The four of them waved and turned towards where Jiraiya was and began walking. Baki and his other two students waved until the other five were out of sight. Once they lost sight of Suna, Naruto walked up beside Jiraiya.

"Neh, Ero-Sennin?"

"What is it?"

"Where are we going to go next?"

Jiraiya thought for a moment.

"We're going to the edge of the Fire Country."

"Eh? Why?"

Jiraiya sighed.

"I want to be as far away from civilization as possible when your seals break."

Naruto smiled sadly. Yukiko who was next to him put his arm around Naruto, and kissed him lightly. Naruto pulled out of the kiss and hugged his girlfriend. They broke the hug and ran to catch up with the rest of them. Jiraiya turned to his charges.

"I want to try and make it as close to the Fire Country as possible, if not be at it's borders by nightfall."

The others nodded and sped up. To make it to the borders by nightfall, they would have to step on the gas. Jiraiya was thinking the same thing as he increased his speed dramatically. The four children had no trouble keeping up as the surrounding desert sped past them in a yellowish blur.

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**At Nightfall, at the edge of the Wind and Fire Country Border:**

It was twilight when the five of them caught sight of the Fire Country's border. They sped up. Just as the reached the Fire Country and entered the forest. After a while, Jiraiya stopped, and turned to Yukiko and nodded.

Yukiko formed some quick hand seals and slammed her palm into the ground.

"Mokuton: Shichuka no Jutsu!"

The ground began to rumble and split apart. Everyone could see roots of trees churning and forming some sort of structure just below the ground, before the structure in question shot out of the ground. A very elaborate wooden house rose into view. It was a two story pagoda. The entire house was made out of very earthy colours, mainly dark brown and yellowish brown. Everyone walked inside and noticed that although this house lacked the bare utilities, like running water, a toilet and electricity, it sure as hell beat sleeping outside. Yukiko took Naruto's arm and began walking towards the stairs that led to the second level. She turned back to the others.

"We're going to go get our room. The other rooms are next to ours, so when you're ready just go and pick one."

The others nodded and decided to follow the couple upstairs to get a room for themselves. Yukiko walked along the corridor and stopped outside a room roughly in the middle of the others. Yukiko pushed open the door. Inside, there was no funiture, not even a bed. Yukiko walked in and unpacked her half of the giant sleeping bag. When they came to Suna, they decided that one of the regular sized sleeping bags wasn't really big enough for them, so they bought an industrial sized sleeping bag. Naruto removed his half of the giant sleeping bag, and attached the zipper to the end of Yukiko's sleeping bag and proceeded to zip it up. Once they had done that, they put the sleeping bag on the ground and walked back outside the room. Naruto went to Gaara's and Jiraiya's room and told them he was going to go get some food. They both acknowledged him and continued their unpacking. Yukiko did the same thing to Sora, and they both went back down the stairs and bit their thumbs, drawing blood and went through the hand seals.

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

Naruto had summoned three white one tailed kitsunes, and Yukiko had summoned two one tailed black cats. The five summoned animals sat on their haunches, waiting for their orders. Naruto directed his kitsunes to go and find some food. Yukiko told her cats to do the same. The others came downstairs to see what was going to be for dinner. Naruto and Yukiko once again bit their thumbs and summoned more creatures. However, this time they summoned only one each. Naruto and Yukiko directed them to find a source of fresh water for drinking. The two animals darted outside the house and split off to search. After that, everyone just sit in silence, none of them wanting to talk about their two best friend's impending doom. Jiraiya finally spoke his mind.

"Naruto, Yukiko, as much as it pains me to say this, we cannot afford to have Kyubi and Nibi roaming the world again. If it comes to it, I will have to kill you before they are released-"

Jiraiya did not even get to finish his sentence as he was slammed up against the wall by a wave of Gaara's sand, which held him in place by forming shackles and Sora pointed one of her swords at Jiraiya, which was crackling with a large amount of electricity. Both of them looked like they were ready to kill Jiraiya without second though if he so much as uttered another word. Gaara spoke first.

"I don't care if you're one of Konoha's legendary Sannin. If you ever DARE threaten my best friends like that again, not only will I kill you, I will nullify the peace contract between Konoha and Suna. As the Kazekage, it is well within my power."

Sora hissed.

"How could you ever even CONSIDER that? I've lost all of the little amount of respect I had for you Jiraiya. Like Gaara, if you so much as lay a finger on them, I will kill you."

Jiraiya gulped. He may be a Sannin, but he couldn't take on these four and expect to live. He sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"You two really have no idea what a loose demon lord can do, however, even I couldn't beat the four of you if you were to come at me."

Naruto smiled sadly and spoke up.

"Gaara, Sora, thanks for helping us, but I'd rather let Ero-Sennin kill us than let Kyubi and Nibi free again."

Sora turned and walked over to Naruto and pulled him off the ground by the collar.

"Do you seriously think it would be ok if you died? Did you even stop to think of what your friends back home would feel if you were killed? Or us for that matter? Naruto, you're one of the three or four other people left in this world who knows the pain we went though. If you even consider letting Jiraiya kill you, I'll electrocute you until your jumbled brain gets a kick start and begins to think rationally, do you hear me?"

Naruto smiled sadly and nodded. Sora put Naruto back onto the ground gently and hugged him.

"Naruto, I'm BEGGING you to try and live. Please try... For us, ok?"

Naruto smiled a genuine smile and nodded. At that point, a slight thump was heard and everyone looked at Naruto's feet to see one of the kitsune's sitting on it's haunches with a rabbit infront of it, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement or praise. Naruto smiled and bent down, giving the Kitsune a scratch between the ears, which the kitsune purred at. Naruto praised the kit.

"Good job. Take the night off."

The kitsune gave a yip and dissapeared in a puff of smoke. With a few minutes in between each one, a stream of cats and kitsunes came in with food. Naruto and Yukiko repeated the proccess that Naruto had with the first Kitsune. Now all they had to do was wait for the cat and kitsune who were sent to seach for water. The kitsune came in first and tugged at Naruto's pants leg, indicating he wanted Naruto to follow. Naruto smiled and turned to Jiraiya.

"Ero-Sennin, I want you to go fill up the water."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto in interest.

"Since when did I start taking orders from you, Naruto?"

"It's not an order, it's a request. I want to have a talk with Sora, Gaara and Yukiko-Chan without you around."

Jiraiya sighed and took everyon'es canteens before following the kitsune to the source of water that it had found. Naruto made sure he couldn't sense Jiraiya before he turned back to the others with a deadly serious look on his face.

"Guys, I know I was willing to die before, but Sora reminded me of those that really care about me. I want you both of you to make a promise to Yukiko-Chan and myself."

The others nodded to show they would.

"If Ero-Sennin tries to kill us, I want you to restrain him. Not kill him, but restrain him until the seals break. Will you do this for us?"

Sora answerd first.

"Naruto I'm not going to promise you that."

Naruto and Yukiko looked at her in horror until she smiled.

"Even if you hadn't asked us to do it, I would have done it anyway. The only difference from what I would have done is I would have killed him, however I know how much he means to you, so I'm just going to modify what my original intention was slightly. I'll let him live, however, he will find himnself in desperate need of medical attention if he tries something."

Gaara nodded in agreement.

"I was thinking exactly the same thing. Naruto, Yukiko, we won't let him harm you in any way. Both of you have taught me so much, yet I have a feeling I can learn so much more from you. I'm not going to let either of you die."

Naruto let a stray tear run down his cheek before he jumped at Gaara and Sora and hugged them. Yukiko quicky did the same and joined the group hug. Gaara still wasn't quite used to the idea of hugging, but he quickly put his arms around Naruto and Yukiko. Sora had put her arms around them as soon as they had embraced her. Naruto broke away quickly, causing the others to look at him questioningly. Naruto put a finger to his lips and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. They knew what this meant, and so they all sat in a circle, and looked up when the felt Jiraiya enter the room. Jiraiya handed the bottles of water to them and then took the food the kitsunes and cats had caught outside. The others followed him and collected kindling to start a fire. Once they had collected enough, they placed the twigs in a pyramid shaped structure. Naruto formed a few hand seals and announced his technique.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

Naruto shot out a single small fireball at the twigs, which burst into flames the moment the ball of fire came into contact with them. Jiraiya came from out of the bushes holding several sticks that had been used as skewers for the rabbits. He put them over the fire and watched them slowly cook. When they were ready, each of them grabbed one and began to eat. At various points throught the meal, one person or another stopped to take a swig of their water. After they finished their meal, Yukiko stood up and faced the fire. She took a deep breath in and spat out a small ball of water, which put the fire out instantly. The five of them walked back into the house and climbed the stairs to get to their rooms to turn in for the night. Gaara lightly put his hand on Sora's shoulder indiciating he wanted her to wait. Sora turned around and looked at him seriously, knowing what this was going to be about.

"How do you propose to protect them during the night, Gaara?"

Gaara had been thinking about this all night, and he had come up with serveral solutions.

"Either one of us watches them for a night while the other sleeps, or we can take it in shifts of half a night each. My room is inbetween Jiraiya's and Naruto and Yukiko's room. I'll watch them for tonight if you want."

Sora however, had come up with an idea that would be able to let them both sleep.

"What if we create a bunshin each and have them keep watch? We'll both be able to sleep, and if they spot anything that goes wrong, or if Jiraiya attacks them, we'll know instantly."

Gaara nodded.

"A bunshin each it is. We probably should station them on either side of Naruto and Yukiko's door. If we post them outside Jiraiya's room, he'll figure it out soon enough."

Sora nodded in agreement and they both made a single hand seal. A puff of smoke appeared next to Sora while the sand in Gaara's gourd began forming a suna bunshin next to him. Both of the bunshins took up position either side of the couple's door, while the real Gaara and Sora turned in for the night.

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**7 am, the Next Morning:**

The next morning, everyone seemed to have made the unconcious decision to wake up late. Yukiko was the first to stir. She was half awake, however, she pushed herself into Naruto harder, trying to enjoy the feeling of hearing his heart beat and share his body warmth. This however, woke Naruto up. He groaned and opened his eyes to see Yukiko snuggled up against him. He sighed contently, and ran a hand softly through her hair. Yukiko looked up and smiled at Naruto before claiming her first kiss of the day.

"Good morning, Naruto-Kun."

"Good morning, Yukiko-Chan."

With that said, they just held each other for several minutes before getting a knock on the door. Naruto grumbled and slowly got out to see who it was. Yukiko pouted at him, but let him go. When Naruto opened the door, he saw two very tired looking bunshins. The Sora bunshin spoke first.

"Morning, Naruto. Since you're awake that means our job is done."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Job?"

Gaara replied.

"The real versions of us told us to guard your door while you two sleep to make sure Jiraiya didn't try anything."

Naruto smiled.

"Thanks guys, it means a lot to me."

They both nodded. The Sora clone puffed into smoke and the Gaara clone turned to the colour of sand and then crumpled to the floor before the sand made it's way back across the floor and under the door to Gaara's room. Naruto turned around and closed the door, hoping to get to hold Yukiko in his arms for just a little while longer before they were forced to get up. He got back into the sleeping bag and cuddled up with Yukiko. They both felt so comfortable in that position, that they both fell back asleep. After several hours, Naruto woke up to find his hand on something. He gave a test squeeze, and found that whatever it was in his hand was very soft and had the stability of jelly. He gave another test squeeze.

_'What the hell is this?'_

Naruto heard the fox in the back of his mind snickering.

_**'Squeeze it again, kit.'**_

Naruto decided to follow the fox's advice, however when he squeezed it again, he heard a moan escape from Yukiko's lips. Yukiko started mumbling before a few coherent words came of her mouth.

"Naruto-Kun... It feels good..."

Naruto suddenly had a pretty good idea what went 'squish'. He immediately withdrew his hand like it was about to be severed and turned beat red. The fox was laughing so hard that he was rolling around on the floor of his cage.

_'Damn you fox!'_

The fox managed to supress his fit of laughter just enough to reply.

_**'You should have learnt by now not to trust me, kit. You had that coming.'**_

The fox went back to howling with laughter while Naruto felt guilty. He felt like he had just taken something from Yukiko which he had no right to take without her concent. At this point, Yukiko woke up and smiled at Naruto. She leaned in for a kiss, but found that Naruto pulled away before she could put her lips to his. She frowned.

"Naruto-Kun? Is something wrong?"

Naruto turned away from her with a pained expression on his face.

"I'm... Sorry... Yukiko-Chan..."

"What for?"

"I... Um... Well..."

Yukiko had no idea what was causing Naruto to behave like this. Needless to say, she was very worried.

"Naruto-Kun, please tell me what's wrong. I won't do anything, I promise."

Naruto looked at her and tried to gather his courage.

"Well... I um... IwassleepingandwhenIwokeupmyhandwasonyourbreastandIhadnoideawhatitwassoIsqueezeditseveraltimesandthenyoumoanedandIpulledmyhandback."

Yukiko had no idea what that string of words that were basically moulded into one meant, but based on Naruto's reaction, and that rather... Explicit dream she had that felt so realistic, she could guess what had happened. She leaned to put her mouth next to his ear so she could whisper her reply quietly to him.

"So, you touched my chest, big deal. I actually quite enjoyed it. Did you?"

Naruto's eyes buldged so wide that Yukiko was scared they'd pop out of his head. Naruto turned even redder than before. Yukiko sighed.

"Naruto-Kun, you are possibly the most pure minded man I have ever met. Even I'm not that innocent. It was bound to happen sometime, but it just happened now. Please don't be embarrased about it. I'm just glad we could try taking the relationship to the next stage before we-"

Naruto clapped his hand over her mouth, preventing her from saying the next word.

"No, we will not die before we do that. I promise you that we will both live through this, I'll find a way god damn it, no matter the price."

Yukiko shed a tear, knowing what Naruto had meant by that.

"Even if it means sacrificing you life?"

Naruto nodded slowly. Yukiko just broke down into tears. Naruto pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her. Yukiko suddenly got very angry.

"Naruto-Kun, how could you? Did you ever stop to think that if you sacrifice your life to save me, I might end up thinking life isn't worth living without you around?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Please don't say things like that, Yukiko-Chan."

"Than don't you ever DARE suggest sacrificing your life to save me again. If you die, I'm dieing with you, and that's final. When one of us goes onto the next world, the other has to join them."

Naruto smiled sadly.

"And when we have kids, who's going to look after them if both of us are dead? Would you really want our kids to have the same childhood we did?"

The fact that Naruto had said 'when' and not 'if' melted Yukiko's heart, however, the rest of the sentence brought great sorrow to Yukiko. She really didn't want their children to go through any of the hardships she had, she'd hate herself if she put any of her children through that. Slowly, Yukiko nodded.

"Then, if we're going to have children..."

Naruto shook his head.

"Not yet. We're too young."

Yukiko nodded. However, that left her with one burning question.

"If we're not going to have children yet, then how will we survive our birthday?"

Naruto smiled.

"I have faith in my dad. I know he wouldn't do this to us without good reason."

Yukiko believed every word of it. Arashi from his letters to Naruto had seemed like the most kind hearted man apart from Naruto she had ever heard of. She hugged Naruto again and decided to start the day. She slowly untanlged herself from Naruto's arms and slid out of the bed. Naruto groaned and got up as well. They finally realised that in this room, there were no side rooms or other rooms they could get changed in. They both blushed at the thought of seeing each other naked for the first time ever, but both of them quickly dismissed the thought from their minds. Yukiko turned to Naruto.

"Ano, Naruto-Kun, I can put up a temporary dividing wall for us if you want..."

Naruto lept at the idea immediately. He may have been smarter than he was two years ago, but he still had no little clue as to the hidden meaning behind Yukiko's question. He nodded and smiled. Yukiko looked sad for a moment before forming a single hand seal and bringing up a wall in between them. Naruto, although dense wasn't completely stupid. He'd seen the look on her face and knew he had answered her question incorrectly.

_'The only thing I don't get is why she didn't really want the wall there...'_

His tenant sighed.

_**'Are you really that stupid, kit?'**_

_'Eh? What are you talking about?'_

_**'Think about what happened this morning and take a guess.'**_

Naruto thought through the rather limited number of events that took place this morning and realised what Yukiko really meant by asking that question.

_'She asked me that question for my sake. She actually didn't want to put the wall up...'_

_**'Seems you're not entirely stupid, kit.'**_

Naruto sighed and walked around the wall, and saw that Yukiko had pretty much completely dressed already. She looked up when she felt Naruto come around the wall. Naruto scratched the back of his head in the way that Yukiko found rather cute.

"Eh heh heh, I didn't realise what you actually meant by that question at first, Yukiko-Chan. I'm sorry, I didn't-"

Yukiko smiled and kissed Naruto to stop him trying to explain his actions. She put a finger to his lips after she pulled back.

"It's ok Naruto-Kun. Now that you've realised what I meant, it's ok."

Naruto smiled and walked back around the wall and got changed. Once he had, he came back around and smiled at Yukiko. He took her hand and led her out the door and downstairs. When they got down there, they saw a note attached to the front door.

_'Naruto, Yukiko, I've taken Gaara and Sora about half a mile north of here to continue training. If you two feel up to it, join us._

_Jiraiya.'_

Naruto smiled and led Yukiko out the door in the direction Jiraiya had indicated. When they were almost there, they saw a huge thunderstorm appear out of nowhere and a massive lightning bolt arc down towards the earth. When they arrived at the place where the lightning bolt had stuck, they saw Sora panting, with a golden blade that could only be Fujin pointing towards the area that had been stuck. The crater was huge, at least 100 foot in diameter. Trees were blown to smitherines and smoke was rising off the crater from numerous fires that had ignited on impact from the sheer power of the thunder striking the ground. Sora turned to Naruto and Yukiko and smirked.

"How was that?"

Naruto shook his head in disbelievement.

"Wow, that was crazy. How much chakra did you use for that?"

Sora smiled.

"None."

Naruto looked at her dubiusly, so Sora explained.

"Raijin converts my demonic chakra into electricity, however, Fujin requires no chakra and I can use the lightning at will, however, the only down side is that the surrounding air pressure must be suitable to induce a storm. For example, if I had tried using this in the middle of the Wind country, I would have been lucky to form a fluffy white cloud in the sky."

Naruto still didn't get some of it.

"Suitable air pressure? What would be classified as 'suitable'?"

Sora explained.

"Basically, when a storm approaches, one of the early warning signs is a change in air pressure. Most people don't notice it or those that do usually pass it off as a 'funny feeling'. However, when I feel it, I know I can use Fujin at will."

Naruto nodded, now understanding it.

"So until then, you have to use Raijin to convert your demon's chakra into electricity?"

Sora nodded. Naruto suddenly stiffened as he sensed two chakra sources nearby sending him killer intent that were definitely not Gaara or Jiraiya. It seems that Yukiko and Sora had sensed them too. Naruto brought out Kyubi's chakra to open the first demonic gate. Yukiko brought out Nibi's chakra to release the first level of the Dead Demon seal, and Sora brought out Rokubi's chakra to get the same effect as Yukiko. They announced their techniques as they fired them at the chakra sources that had sent a small amount of killer intent at them just before.

"Fox Fire!"

"Acid Cannon!"

"Lightning Strike!"

The two attacks from Naruto and Yukiko flew into the trees and dissapeared. A lightning bolt from the storm overhead struck down and intercepted Naruto and Yukiko's attacks, detonating them approximately two meters from where their targets were standing, causing a hundred foot wide crater to form. Naruto knew better than to think they were dead.

"So, who did Akatsuki send us this time?"

As if on queue, two figurescameinto existance at the opposite end of the clearing, roughly 30 meters from the trio. Naruto laughed at the sight.

"Itachi and Kisame, eh? You're not getting us now, or ever. Just give up."

Itachi looked at Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun, contrary to what you think we did not come here to fight."

Naruto laughed.

"Do you really expect me to buy that?"

Kisame sighed.

"Listen punk. We came with a warning. We know what's happening to your seals. We came to tell you that on your birthday, the seals will break, and you will die."

Naruto scowled.

"Oh? And how do you know that?"

Itachi answered.

"We have an extensive collection of knowledge, Naruto-Kun. Part of that collection contains information on your seal."

Naruto 'hmph'ed and turned his head to the side.

"My bloodline gives me all the knowledge on the seals. You would never have information that this wouldn't give me."

Itachi was getting fustraited, however, he kept his calm exterior.

"Naruto-Kun, you may have the 'Seal Eye' but it is not yet at the level required to understand what is happenening to you. We also come with a proposition."

Naruto sighed.

"What do you want? IF you want me to hand myself over so you can drain it, then leave now before I kill you."

Kisame growled.

"Kid, do you ever shut up? You have no idea what we're trying to do."

"Oh, I know EXACTLY what you're trying to do, fishface."

Kisame sneered and put his hand on the handle of Samehada, however Itachi shook his head. Kisame sighed and released his grip on the sword, dropping his hand by his side. Itachi spoke again.

"Naruto-Kun. I know that you do not want the Kyubi to attack Konoha. Personally, I couldn't care less if it leveled it, however, at this point in time it seems our goals are roughly the same."

Naruto looked at Itachi in slight interest.

"When are our goals even remotely similar?"

"Both of us want the Kyubi out of view of the public. You want him to stay in your body to keep him from ravenging the country, while we want him for our own purposes. Our proposal is this: At midnight on your 14th brithday, Kyubi will be unleashed once again, however, we want to take up positions in the gerneral area to seal the Kyubi like we did with the rest of the Bijus. Since Nibi will also be there, we will do the same thing to her. If you want to look at it this way, at least Konoha and the Snow will survive."

Naruto actually had to conceed it to him. His plan was a very tempting offer. On the other hand, Naruto had no doubt that they would use the Kyubi for some sort of world domination or something, however once he died, there was no one else who could stop Kyubi and Nibi. He sighed in defeat.

"I agree on three conditions."

"What would they be, Naruto-Kun?"

"One, you leave our friends alone. Two, you leave us alone until after we die. Three, if the Kyubi and Nibi do not get released, you will leave the area immediately."

Itachi thought through the possibilites of the last condition and what Naruto had meant by it.

"We agree with the first two conditions, however, the third is unnecesay, as nothing of the sort will happen."

Naruto growled.

"All three conditions must be agreed to, or no deal."

Kisame laughed.

"You realise that you're not in any real condition to bargain, brat."

Itachi shook his head.

"If it makes you accept the deal, then we will agree with the third as well."

Naruto nodded.

"Anything else?"

Itachi shook his head.

"That is all."

Naruto smirked.

"However, I have one question about a certain member of Akatsuki."

Itachi looked at Naruto in mild interest.

"Kisame has some connection with Sanbi, doesn't he?"

Everyone stiffened slightly at that, even Kisame and Itachi. Itachi decided to try and get an answer as to where Naruto had picked the clues up from.

"Naruto-Kun, why do you say that?"

Naruto smirked and told Itachi all the things that lead him up to the discovery.

"The sanbi is a three finned Isondre. The Isondre is said to have a subordinate called Samehanda. Also, from what I've been able to find out, a lot of Kisame's attacks involve the word shark in them. Also, his physical appearance is very shark-like. Hell, he even REEKS of shark. I'd even be willing to bet that Kisame has signed the summoning contract of marine life, of which, Sanbi is the boss of. Kisame also means devil shark. Also, those three lines below each eye are not just for decoration, are they, Kisame?"

Itachi was amazed by Naruto's deductions. There was no point denying it now.

"Yes, Kisame is connected to Sanbi."

Naruto spat his next word.

"Traitor."

Kisame felt a small twinge of guilt, however he quickly shook it off.

"So what if I didn't join your merry group of friends? What are you going to do about it?"

"**Nothing."**

Everyone perked up in the obvious change in voices.

"Eh?"

"**Nothing. I'm not angry at you, however I'm very dissapointed in you, Sanbi."**

Kisame decided to let the former demon friends speek to each other. When Sanbi's voice came out, it was very gravelly and rough, just like a shark's skin.

"**Hah, you've grown soft since you were sealed in that cub, Kyubi."**

"**Get out of my sight both of you before I decided to kill you."**

"**Heh, I look forward to seeing you in your true form again, Kyubi."**

With that, Kisame/Sanbi and Itachivanished into thin air. Naruto, Yukiko and Sora stopped drawing on their demonic powers and went back to their completely human forms. A few minutes later, Gaara and Jiraiya appeared in the clearing. Gaara noticed Naruto's look.

"You just met Akatsuki again, didn't you?"

Naruto nodded. Jiraiya noticed that the look on his face was very different to the look he lad on his face all the other times he fought Akatsuki.

"It seems that you're almost depressed about meeting them. What happened?"

Naruto sighed.

"Sanbi's container betrayed us and joined Akatuki."

Jiraiya and Gaara raised an eyebrow at this, or in Gaara's case, the skin where an eyebrow should be.

"Sanbi?"

Naruto sighed.

"You're not too smart for a Sannin, you know that, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya ignored the comment, but Gaara already had a fair idea what Naruto was taking about.

"So, Kisame was Sanbi's container after all."

Jiraiya turned to Gaara.

"Kisame was Sanbi's container?"

Naruto wanted to rip his hair out.

"What exactly do you do when you go 'information gathering', Ero-Sennin? Are you so blind that you couldn't even figure that out? If all the Sannin are like you, I should have been Hokage two years ago."

Jiraiya was getting pissed off at Naruto questioning his intelligence. He decided to question what they wanted, however, Naruto interrupted before he could.

"Give me one good reason why I should tell you what they wanted."

Jiraiya wasn't used to taking this sort of talk from a teenager, and was about to go give Naruto a punch to the head to wake him up when he sensed four waves of killer intent. Yukiko spoke for the group.

"Since you threatened to kill both Naruto-Kun and myself, we refuse to treat you as someone who deserves even an ouce of respect until you prove you've earnt it, Sannin title or not."

Sora and Gaara nodded. Jiraiya could see where they were coming from, but he had no intention of killing them for any reason other than saving the rest of the world. Even if he did kill them, he would hardly be able to live with himself for killing his students only son. Jiraiya sighed.

"Fine, however, I really hope that you have a plan that you will use when the day comes."

Naruto smirked.

"I have a plan alright. Several of them."

"I doubt you will tell me, but I'm interested in how you plan on stopping them."

Naruto looked up at Jiraiya.

"Nothing."

Jiraiya looked at the boy like he was mad.

"Nothing?"

"Ero-Sennin, you said it yourself. Dad's seals never failed. How can you have so little faith in him?"

Jiraiya could see the boy's point. Arashi's seals never failed, and it'd be very uncharacteristic of him to make his most elaborate seal that would be the only one to fail him. But if Jiraiya knew Naruto, there would be more than just hoping.

"There's a backup plan, isn't there."

It was a statement, not a question. Naruto nodded and looked at Sora and Yukiko, who both nodded. Naruto turned back to Jiraiya.

"Akatsuki."

Jiraiya was seriously beginning to question the boy's sanity.

"Akatsuki?"

Naruto sighed.

"What would you rather, should my dad's seal, god forbid, break? Two major demons running around leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake with no one even remotely capeable of stopping them, or the demons in possesion of a group that will at least ensure the survival of the world for at least a few years longer until they get the rest of them?"

Jiraiya saw that the boy had had to make a terrible decision between two evils. Naturally, he had taken the lesser one.

"I see what you mean. Both choices have consequences, however, it seems you were able to side with our worst enemy in order to save the rest of the world. Most people will view you as a traitor, however, they will never know the real truth. I guess all I can say is you made the right choice."

With that, Jiraiya turned away from them.

"I'm heading back to the house. If you four want to come, then let's get moving. However, if you want to stay, then feel free to."

With that, Jiraiya left.

The other's decided to stop their training and think about what had happened today. They travelled through the trees as a pack. Once they got back to the house, they walked up to the front door and saw a note on it.

_'Sorry for the abruptness of this, but I've gone to the nearest town for about a week to pick up some supplies and other things. I know you guys can manage without me for the time I'm gone, so try to enjoy yourselves._

_Jiraiya.'_

Naruto sighed and took the note down once they had all finished reading it. They went through the same proceedure as they did last night for dinner. Once the kitsunes and cats got back, they built a fire and cooked the prey the kitsunes had caught. Once they finished eating, they put the fire out and went upstairs to go to sleep. Since Jiraiya was not here, there was no need for bunshin guards. They all turned in and promptly went to sleep.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**7:30 am Nearly a Week Later:**

Naruto was first to wake to another all too familiar '_CRACK'. _He sighed and went to visit his tenant. When he arrived there, he saw that there was indeed another crack in the seal. The fox smiled at his container.

"**Well, kit, that makes exactly one quarter of the seal destroyed. Why aren't you living your life to the fullest? Not mating with your girlfriend, not destroying entire towns-"**

"Shut it. I'm living my life the way I want. Touching Yukiko-Chan was bad enough. I'm not going to let my mind be corrupted."

The fox sneered.

"**How noble. Too bad it won't do you any good. You've got three months to enjoy life. Kit, seriously stop moping around. You seem to forget that I feel everything you feel too."**

"All the better. Then you'll get an idea of what it's like for those you kill."

"**Ha. I'm not going to play your game of guilt trips, so don't bother kit. Now get lost, I'm going back to sleep."**

Naruto sighed and went back to the real world. He woke up to see that Yukiko's seal had done the same thing as his had done. Naruto hugged Yukiko.

"The only thing we can do is believe in my dad."

Yukiko nodded and pushed her head further into his chest. Suddenly, they both felt three very large chakra sources nearby. They both gout out of bed and threw some clothes on over the top of their sleep wear. They burst out of the door to see that Gaara and Sora had felt the presences as well. They nodded and ran down the stairs and out the door. Once they got outside, they saw in the direction of the chakra souces a wall of flames. Every now and then, another explosion would go off. They charged in a diamon formation towards the source of the fight. When they arrived there, Gaara saw a girl fly out of the bushes as slam into a tree. He headed off in the direction the girl had landed and the others changed course to match him. Gaara was almost there when he saw some very familiar clay birds flying at the girl. The cork sealing his gourd popped off and a wall of sand shot out to absorb the explosion. The girl was obviously in a lot of pain, as she was bleeding profusely from a lot of cuts and she was also scratched in a lot of places. The four of them stood in front of the girl.The girl looked up in a silent thank you to her saviors. She warned them of who they were facing.

"Be careful, those guys are god damn strong."

Gaara nodded.

"They are, however, I managed to beat one of them by myself not too long ago."

The girl's eyes widened. Gaara turned to Yukiko.

"Yukiko, please heal the girl. We'll take care of these two."

Yukiko nodded and bent down administering healing chakra to the girl's scratches. Gaara turned back to the direction the two members of Akatsuki.

"Deidra, Sasori, come out."

They both came out of the trees and frowned at Gaara.

"Gaara, please don't get involved in this. We'd rather do this with no fuss involved."

Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"Since you're after this girl, I'd assume she's another demon container?"

Said girl's eyes widened. Deidra answered.

"Yeah, she's the container for Shichibi no Suzaku, yeah."

Gaara shook his head.

"I won't let you pass. It's bad enough that our kind are treated as demons by the people of our own village, but we don't need fools like you hunting us down every second of our lives as well."

The girl visably relaxed. Sasori and Deidra weighed their options.

"Heh, we can't win against over half the demon containers. It's unlikely that even most of Akatsuki could do it."

Naruto snarled.

"You guys are getting Kyubi and Nibi in three months, can't you guys wait until then?"

Deidra smiled.

"Yeah, we can wait. Just so you know, you're the last of the demon containers left alive, yeah. We'll see you in three months, yeah."

With that, Deidra and Sasorimade themselves scarce, leaving one of Deidra's clay birds behind. Gaara shot his sand out to encompase the bird, which promptly exploded, casung the sand to bulge. Once Gaara was sure that the threat had been dealt with, he retracted his sand and turned back to the girl he had just saved.

She was rather tall for her age, and she had long red hair that reached down to her lower back (don't see many red heads in Naruto, do you?). Her eyes were hazel. She wore a white shirt that had a phoenix embroided on the back and a pair of cargo pants. She sighed.

"Thanks for saving me. Those guys have been chasing me on and off for years."

Gaara nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Yamamoto Hotaru. As that clay using guy said, I'm the container for the Shichibi no Suzaku."

Hotaru smiled as she looked over the group.

"I guess by the wisker marks that you're the Kyubi no Kitsune's container."

Naruto nodded. The girl turned to Sora.

"Judging by the swords, you'd be the Rokubi no Raiju's container."

Sora nodded dumbly. She turned to Yukiko.

"Judging by the slight aura of death you're giving off, I'd say you're the Nibi no Nekomata's container."

Yukiko nodded. Finally, the girl turned to Gaara.

"And from the gourd and the black rings around your eyes, you're the container for Ichibi no Shukaku, right?"

Gaara nodded. Hotaru slowly stood up, looking directly at Gaara.

_'He's kind of cute...'_

_**'Is it because he's a red head like you?'**_

_'Maybe...'_

Gaara noticed her staring at him and raised his eyebrowless eyebrow (if that makes any sense...)

"Is there any reason you're staring at me like that?"

The girl blushed slightly before shaking her head.

"No, not really."

Everyone lapsed into silence for a while. After a while, Hotaru spoke up.

"Ano, sorry if this is a weird request, but could I possibly... Come with you guys?"

The other four looked at each other. Naruto spoke.

"I don't see why not. Oh, before we go any further, I'll introduce us. I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

Hotaru nodded, and Naruto put his arm around Yukiko's waist.

"This is my girlfriend, Yakushi Yukiko."

Yukiko waved at her. Hotaru smiled and waved back. Naruto looked at Sora.

"To Yukiko's right is Saito Sora."

Sora smiled and held up a hand in greeting (think Sasuke at the mission to the Wave when he recovers from being stabbed into unconciousness by those senbon needles) Hotaru nodded. As  
Naruto indicated to Gaara with a nod of his head, Hotaru focused on the red head, very interested in his name.

"And tall, dark and scary over there is Sabaku no Gaara."

Gaara tilted his head to the side.

"Tall dark and scary?"

Naruto chuckled.

"It's an expression. When used in this sense, it's meant to tease you."

Hotaru had her own question.

"Sabaku no Gaara? No surname?"

Gara shook his head. Hotaru smiled.

"Ok. Well, it's nice to meet all of you. Unfortunately, I can guess we all had a similar childhood, which I guess is what forced at least some of us to flee from our Villages..."

"What Village did you come from?"

Hotaru narrowed her eyes and turned her head to the side.

"I... Don't want to talk about it."

Naruto nodded.

"Fair enough."

At that point, they felt a rather large chakra signature not too far away. They turned to see Jiraiya come out of the bushes not too far away. True to his note, he was carrying a backpack full of stuff. Jiraiya took interest in the new edition to the crew.

"Hmmm, another one? I don't think I can keep up with teaching all of you..."

Naruto sighed.

"We ran into Akatsuki again. According to them, this is all of us."

Jiraiya nodded. And introduced himself in a far less... Extreme manner than he normally did.

"Hey, I'm Jiraiya, one of the three Sannin of Konoha. Judging by the aura of warmth you're giving off... You'd be the Shichibi no Suzaku's container, right?"

Hotaru nodded. Jiraiya nodded and turned back to the others, mainly Naruto.

"Naruto, Yukiko. I was wondering if I could have a talk with you in private."

The other two tensed up, thinking Jiraiya was going to make his move. Hotaru looked at them strangely, but Jiraiya just waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"No, I'm not going to try anything."

Naruto nodded and walked forward with Yukiko, turning to face the others when he was in between them and Jiraiya.

"Guys, head back to the house, We'll be a few minutes before we join you."

They nodded and took off, leaving Naruto and Yukiko alone with Jiraiya.

"What did you want?"

Jiraiya sighed.

"I just wanted to appologise to you for saying I would kill you before. I've been thinking about it the whole time I was away, which was the real reason I left. I really shouldn't doubt Arashi like that. I got ahead of myself and though about the saftey of those back home."

Naruto nodded.

"Fine, however I don't think I can forgive you yet... Maybe with time..."

Jiraiya looked at Yukiko.

"I'm the same as Naruto-Kun."

Jiraiya sighed and turned back towards the house.

"Fair enough. We'll I'm going back, so let's get going."

They nodded and followed just behind Jiraiya. Once the house came into view, they saw the others waiting on the front doorstep. They looked up when the saw the trio approach and smiled. They turned back and walked inside, with Jiraiya, Naruto and Yukiko right behind them. It was about 1 pm in the afternoon, and everyone was starving. Naruto went to bite his thumb, but Jiraiya put up a hand to stop him.

"Some of the supplies I brought were food, and proper food at that. Jiraiya got his pack and undid the clips holding it closed. He brought out cup ramen, trays of dango and sushi, and various other types of food, all fresh food apart from the ramen, which got Yukiko wondering.

"Jiraiya, if this is all fresh food, how exactly are we going to keep it fresh?"

Jiraiya smiled.

"I didn't spend ten years travelling the world without learning jutsus that are meant for survival and not combat. Yukiko, could you please make some sort of fridge shaped container from wood?"

Yukiko nodded dumbly and put her hands in a hebi seal. The ground in the corner of the room warped to form a fridge shaped box. Jiraiya went over to it and found that it even had a working door. He opened it and formed a few hand seals and announced his jutsu.

"Hyoton: Ice Freezing Technique!"

Jiraiya blew stremes of water vapor out of his mouth that quickly froze when they touched the insides of the freezer. When he stopped, he closed the freezer door and went back to the food he had brought out of his pack, taking it to the freezer and putting it in. He looked at the others.

"Mind giving me a hand?"

They got up and helped him put the food into the freezer. Once they had put most of it away, they settled down to eat what was left out. Naruto and Gaara instincivly went for a bowl of cup ramen each, while Yukiko and Sora went for a tray of sushi. Hotaru went for a tray of dango while Jiraiya went for a bowl of what seemed to be mixed vegitables. Naruto and Gaara realised something. There ws no water, let alone something to boil it. Naruto looked up at Jiraiya.

"Ano... Ero-Sennin..."

Jiraiya looked up.

"Oh, water and something to boil it with right? Don't worry, I couldn't carry everything back here, so I got some help."

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Help?"

Just then, they heard the sound of webbed feet outside the door. Jiraiya smiled.

"Seems they just arrived."

Jiraiya went to the door and opened it to see two roughly human sized frogs with custom made backpacks for them. The packs were bulging. The frogs were orange in colour, but they had black swilrs on their body for decoration. Jiraiya smiled.

"Thanks, you two."

"No problem, Jiraiya."

The frogs dumped the packs and waved at the group.

"Catch you around!"

They both dissapeared in a puff of smoke, leaving their packs on the door step as the only sign that they had been there. Jiraiya pulled both packs in and put them next to the one he had brought with him. He opened one to find a portable gas cooker with an attached gas cylinder, which he put in the middle of the group. He dug further into the bag and found a kettle. Now there was only one problem. Water. By now, Naruto was getting impatient waiting to eat ramen for the first time in a week, so he took the kettle and used one of his trademark jutsus.

"Hirashin no Jutsu!"

With that, he sped out the door and oof in the direction of the nearby lake. Hotaru's eyes widended considerably.

"That... That was..."

Gaara nodded.

"Hirashin no Jutsu. It was created and belonged to the Yondaime Hokage, and now, Naruto is the only one in the world who knows it."

Hotaru's eyes narrowed.

"But then that would mean that Naruto is the Yondaime's son..."

Gaara nodded.

"That is correct."

Hotaru shook her head.

"Amazing."

Just then, the yellow blur that had left not 30 seconds ago was back, with a kettle full of water. He put it on the cooker and turned it on. After three minutes, they heard the familiar sound of the kettle beginning to whistle. Once it had fully boiled, Naruto turned the stove off and pulled the kettle off, pouring the boiling water into Gaara's cup of ramen. Naruto did the same with his, and then pulled the pair of plastic chopstics that came attached to the side of the bowl. He said his usual statement before he ate.

"Itadakimasu."

With that, everyone dug in. Sora and Yukiko finished two trays of sushi, while Hotaru finished three trays of dango. Jiraiya had finished his cup of mixed vegitables and they all turned to Naruto and Gaara who were on their third bowl of cup ramen. Jiraiya sighed.

"There's no way I could keep these two fed with ramen if they ate like this all the time."

Once Naruto and Gaara had finished their fourth bowl, they sat back, signifying they had finished. Jiraiya nodded, noticing that everyone had finished. They sat there in silence before Naruto, being the former loud hyperactive ninja he used to be, couldn't let his old habit die, so he broke the silence.

"Ano, I'm going upstairs to look through my dad's box."

With that Naruto got up and walked towards the stairs. Yukiko decided to follow him.

"I'm going with him."

With that, the others decided to go to their rooms as well. When Sora remembered that there were no spare rooms that Hotaru could use, she smiled.

"You can share my room with me if you want."

Hotaru nodded and smiled.

"Thanks."

With that, both of them walked into Sora's room.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Half an Hour Later, in Naruto and Yukiko's Room:**

Naruto had been going through all of his father's scrolls, desperately looking to see if there was something, ANYTHING he had missed. Yukiko was helping Naruto look over one half of the scroll while Naruto looked over the other half. When Naruto got to his half of the scrolls he slumped. He hadn't missed anything. Naruto decided to once again consult his Ingan (seal eye). After another hour, he had almost exauhsted the entire eye of it's knowledge, and he cursed, focusing more chakra to his eyes.

_'There has to be something I'm missing... Focus...'_

Yukiko noticed the look of pure and utter determination on Naruto's face and smiled sadly at him. However, Yukiko was getting worried at the amount of strain Naruto was putting on himself and activated her Bloodline Limit to check if he was ok. When she activated it, she was surprised to see the amount of chakra Naruto was focusing to his eyes. If Naruto kept it up, he would suffer a mild case of chakra exhaustion. Yukiko disabled her Doujutsu and looked at Naruto's eyes. She noticed that the triangles on either side of his eye were moving slightly, and she looked in wonder as a third one appeared, forming an equalateral triangle with each of the traingles as an apex. Yukiko beemed at Naruto, who seemed to be in some sort of daze.

"Congratulations, Naruto-Kun. You just activated stage three Ingan."

Naruto smiled at her.

"Thanks, Yukiko-Chan. The amount of knowledge I have on seals has practically doubled, however, I'm too tired to go through it now."

Yukiko nodded, leaned over and gave Naruto a hug. Naruto stripped down to his boxers and got in the sleeping bag. Yukiko stripped down to her t-shirt and panties, and got in after Naruto. They both snuggled up to each other, listening to the other's breathing, which they both found quite relaxing. Eventually, they both fell asleep.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Score, another chapter out of the way. I hope this one is long enough for you guys. This one was 27 pages and almost 11k words. Next chapter will fast forward to Naruto and Yukiko's 14th birthday. Not much else to put down here, so I guess until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	24. Ode to the Flamer

**A/N:** Yo! Sorry I'm late, I had to help an old lady cross the road...

Readers: LIAR!

Meh anyways... OH! I got my first negative review in the form of a troll/flame from one **Kage of the village hidden in the Blood**! It seems that the he thinks he knows what's going to happen! GUESS WHAT YOU TARD? YOU'RE COMPLETELY WRONG! If you honestly believe it 'sucks ass', I want you to stop reading my fic, because you obviously don't deserve to read it. If you can make a story with over 100k words that gets 100+ positive reviews in about three weeks, then I will listen to you. Until then, never show your face in my presence again, scum.

Harsh? Possibly, but that was my first flamer for this story, and he didn't even put up a decent argument. He made a completely incorrect assumption that couldn't be father from the truth. What did I say in the very first chapter? NO FLAMERS! You haven't even authored a story, so your words mean nothing to me.

Sorry for getting all of your hopes up to find out the conclusion to the seals breaking, but I'm currently writing it as this is put up, but I just couldn't contain myself from chewing out this retard who thinks he knows fine art when he sees it. I'll be back soon guys and girls!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	25. 14th Birthday

**A/N:** Yo! A black cat crossed my path today...

Readers: LIAR!

Um yeah, well anyway... I remember someone wanted to know the history of the hidden nins. Well, unfortunately, as far as the anime/manga is concerned, hidden nins don't exist, however I guess I can give you a background of what a hidden nin is to me.

Hidden nins are kind of like an elite group bounty hunters who instead of aiming to kill people for money, aim to help every village to live in peace and prosperity. They were most well known during the time when the demon lords roamed the earth, as they were some of the only people who could stand up to them. During the imprisonment of all the demon lords except the Kyubi, the hidden nins played a vital role of some sort, whether it was to reinforce the other shinobi or to slow the demon lord down by themselves to give others time to figure out what to do. The only reason they weren't present for Kyubi is that Arashi wanted to do it himself, for what reasons, no one knows. It is forbidden for a hidden nin to harm a member of a village unless that member had become a missing nin or the member attacks the hidden nin, in which case, he/she may only use the minimum force necessary to subdue the ninja. After the demon lords were all sealed, the demand for them greatly diminished, so most of them decided to retire, but they would come back out of retirement should a great evil be unleashed upon the world. To give you an idea of how strong they were, some of the strongest hidden nins were of equal strength to some of the higher members of Akatsuki, not the leader though. If you want to know any more about hidden nins in my world, feel free to ask questions. I'll answer them if I can.

Also, as a side note, I was musing about what would happen if NekoGuyFan and myself created a room, into which Naruto, Yukiko and Akira (from Neko's fic, Through a Dragon's Eye) were put. I think the results would be... Interesting to say the least. (One Naruto and two girls who are the object of his desires, oh my. Decisions, decisions...)

Rokudaime Quote for the Chapter: **KAKASHI**: "I have been waiting here for an HOUR, you guys..."

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Speaking..."

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 21:

14th Birthday:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Three Months Later:**

Three months had passed. It was now October 10th, the day of reckoning. Naruto woke up first. He sighed and hugged Yukiko closer. His new level of Ingan had not, even with the extensive new amount of knowledge it brought, come up with any possible reason the seals would be acting like this. He sighed and kissed Yukiko on the forehead. This was enough to wake Yukiko up. She smiled sadly at Naruto.

"Morning, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto hugged her tighter in response, putting his head in the crook of her neck. His spoken response was muffled.

"Morning, Yukiko-Chan."

They had purposely left the 'good' out of their greetings, as there was nothing 'good' about today, despite it was their birthdays. They hugged each other, thinking this might be their last morning holding each other. They both just wanted to stay there until the void claimed them, however, they also wanted to see their friends. Naruto tried to slowly got out of bed, but Yukiko yanked him back in. She wrapped her arms around Naruto, not daring to let him go. She started sobbing.

"Please don't go, Naruto-Kun..."

Naruto sighed and stroked her hair. He planted another kiss on her forehead.

"Ok, I'll stay... But I still want to go see the others some time today too..."

Yukiko did not stop sobbing. Naruto hated to see Yukiko like this. It made his heart break, because there was nothing that he could do to stop her pain. He lifted her head to be level with his by lifting her chin with one finger. He kissed her for a full minute before he pulled back.

"Please don't cry, Yukiko-Chan. It makes my heart ache when you do. You're too beautiful to cry."

Yukiko put her head into his chest and tried desperatly to stop crying, for Naruto's sake as well as her own. Eventually, she managed to stop. Naruto lifted her head with one hand cupping her cheek. He brought her face closer to his and gave her a passionate kiss. This kiss lasted well over 2 minutes, and they both pulled back panting. Naruto heared his watch beep, signifying it had passed an hour. Naruto looked at his watch and saw it was 11 am. Naruto put his head back in the crook of her neck.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, can I please get out now?"

Yukiko slowly let him go, signifying he could go. Yukiko drearily followed Naruto out of the bag and got changed. Naruto had already gotten changed and was waiting at the door. Once Yukiko had changed, she took his hand before leading him down the stairs. Once they got down, they stopped. The place was decorated with red and green streamers and other assorted things. Above the doorway, there was a banner, which read: _'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!'_. Naruto noticed in the middle of the room was Jiraiya, Sora, Hotaru and Gaara. They were all smiling at them. Naruto started to tear up, and he noticed that Yukiko was as well. Sora spoke for them.

"Happy birthday, Naruto, Yukiko! Come on, we've got good food here that shouldn't be wasted!"

With that, Naruto and Yukiko walked over to the group and sat down next to each other. In the center was a large amount of assorted types of food. There was ramen (well, duh!), sushi, dango, salads, and in the very center was a cake. The cake wasn't as extravagent as the one they had last year, but it was a cake none the less. Jiraiya smiled.

"Happy birthday, Naruto, Yukiko. Dig in."

Naruto called out his favorite pre dinner statement.

"Itadakimasu!"

With that, everyone got stuck into the food. Naruto and Yukiko ate especially feverently, considering what today was. Once they had finished all of the food, all that was left was the cake. They both looked at the cake, taking in every little detail. The cake was made of rich chocolate, with green and red highlights. On the top of the cake was a birthday message.

_'Happy 14th Birthday!'_

Jiraiya pulled out a box of matches and lit the candles. Once he had, he turned to the birthday boy/girl.

"Go on, make your wish."

Unknown to the other, Naruto and Yukiko both wished for exactly the same thing. They both took a deep breath, and blew at the 14 candles. Each and every one of them was blown out. They smiled and Jiraiya handed them a small knife. They both put their hands over the knife and cut into the cake, both of them hoping it came out dirty. Once they had made the cut, they lifted it to find it was indeed, dirty. They dropped the knife and looked at each other, practically tackling the other to the ground. They gave each other a long passionate kiss. Sora giggled, while Hotaru laughed. Gaara just twisted the corner of his mouth up in a smile while Jiraiya shook his head in disbelief. After a few minutes, Naruto and Yukiko broke apart, loking at each other with nothing but pure love. They turned back to the others and blushed when they noticed their reactions. Naruto was first to try and defend them.

"Ah, sorry... I guess we got kinda carried away..."

Hotaru smiled.

"Heh, no problem."

Naruto and Yukiko took turns cutting pieces of the cake for everyone. Once everyone had a piece, they took their first bite. Naruto and Yukiko didn't care if this cake wasn't as good as the one they'd had last year, it was still a cake. After they had finished their first bit, they went back for seconds. Naruto and Yukiko had made sure there was enough cake for exactly two pieces for everyone. After they had finished their second bit, they sat in silence. After a while, Gaara stood up.

"I want to show you two something."

They both nodded and got up. Everyone else decided to follow them, which Gaara didn't mind. Once they walked down the front steps, Gaara led them through the forest, until he reached a clearing. Once they got out into the clearing, they saw what at first looked to be mounds of rocks, however, once they got closer, they saw that the 'mounds' were in fact sculptures, and suprisingly well detailed ones at that. When they got closer, they saw that the sculptures were actually of them. In the middle, Naruto was holding Yukiko around the waist, while Yukiko had a hand on Naruto's bicep. Jiraiya was behind them, grinning like he did when he was happy. To Naruto's left, was Gaara, with a smile on his face. To Gaara's left was Hotaru who had her hands on her hips and was smiling wolfishly at the real versions of them. On Yukiko's right was Sora, who was smiling sweetly as she was usually seen doing. Naruto dropped to his knees. It was then that he noticed a rock that had been cut at an angle to reveal a plauqe of sorts. He read the inscription:

_'Dedicated to the greatest man and woman to ever live. They were friends, saviors, and undisputed leaders. We will always remember you, Uzumaki Naruto and Yakushi Yukiko.'_

Naruto sobbed silently. By this time, Yukiko had read the inscription as well. She wasn't fairing much better at keeping her emotions in check. They turned to Gaara, who had a hint of a smile on his face. Yukiko couldn't control herself and glomped Gaara who was shocked at this, but accepted it none the less. Naruto decided to latch himself onto Gaara as well, who couldn't take the weight of both of them hugging him at once and fell over. Naruto and Yukiko released him and smiled sheepishly. Gaara shook his head in disbelief and got up. Naruto had a question he really felt pressed to ask.

"Ano, Gaara... Did you do this by yourself?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Although I sculpted it, I had no idea what to use for facial expressions or postures. Jiraiya, Sora and Hotaru helped me to figure out what everyone should look like, so it's a birthday present from all of us."

Naruto and Yukiko smiled and gathered everyone in for a group hug. Yukiko pulled back to speak.

"Thank you so much, this means more than you can imagine to us."

Naruto nodded in agreement. They stayed their and talked, not noticing the hours fly by, not even noticing when the sun set.. Naruto was alerted to the time by one very smug tenant.

_**'3 hours left, kit.'**_

Naruto stiffened, which everyone noticed. They looked at their watches, and noticed in horror that it was 9 pm. Sora began appologising profusely.

"I'm sorry, Naruto and Yukiko! I didn't realise the time! If we hadn't talked for so long-"

She didn't finish as Naruto held up a hand.

"Who said we didn't enjoy it?"

Yukiko nodded.

"I would have rather talked to you like this then mope around waiting for midnight."

Sora sighed. At least it hadn't been a waste. Jiraiya got up.

"Alright everyone, let's head back to the house for dinner."

On queue, Naruto's stomach growled, making him grin sheepishly. The others realised how hungry they were, and got up, walking towards the house.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**An Hour Later, At the House:**

Everyone had finished eating a while ago, and remained quiet. Kyubi had again reminded Naruto of the time when the hour struck. Soon, Naruto looked up at the others.

"Ano, I want to spend some time alone with Yukiko-Chan."

The others nodded, while Jiraiya smiled and gave Naruto the thumbs up.

"Go for it!"

Everyone looked rather surprised at this reaction, however Sora quickly caught onto the true meaning of it and punched Jiraiya on the head.

"HENTAI!"

For once, Naruto laughed at the situation. Yukiko shook her head in bemusement, while Gaara raised an eyebrowless eyebrow and Hotaru just snickered. Naruto took Yukiko's hand and led her outside. Once they were outside, Naruto picked Yukiko up bridal style, who gave a small 'eep'. He then used Hiraishin no Jutsu to go to the middle of where Akatsuki were going to set up. Once there, Naruto stopped and put Yukiko down, who grumbled from the loss of being so close to him. Naruto leaned back against a tree and Yukiko sat in between his legs, pushing her back into him, trying to get as close to him as possible. Naruto sighed contently. Thinking to himself.

_'If I was going out, this is the way I'd want to go...'_

His tenant snickered.

_**'I can speed it up for you and break out now if you want.'**_

_'Very funny.'_

_**'Enjoy your last hour and a half, kit.'**_

Naruto grumbled mentally, before he went back to focusing his attention on Yukiko. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked into her eyes. They just sat there, sharing a comfotable silence. Each of them going over their lives, focusing on the parts of it they had spent together. By now, they had about 5 minutes left. Naruto lowered his head to hers, having one last kiss before the seals broke. By the time they split apart, they had 1 minute left. Naruto was summoning up the courage to ask the question he'd been burning to ask for the last four months.

_0:55:_

_'Should I ask her? This might be the only chance I get...'_

_0:45:_

_'Oh come on! It's not like it's going to kill you any quicker...'_

_0:35:_

_God damn it! I've never been like this except when I asked her out! Why do I have to be such a coward?'_

_0:25:_

_God damn it! I'm going to ask her, even if it means she says no!'_

_0:15:_

_Damn! Come on, ASK HER!'_

_0:05:_

Naruto finally decided to go for it. He had nothing to lose.

"Yukiko-Chan, if we were older would you-"

Naruto didn't get to finish the sentence, as his watch beeped to sign that it was midnight. Naruto and Yukiko clutched their stomachs as their seals flashed bright white, even through their clothes. They both howled in pain.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**In Two Sewers That Caged Nibi and Kyubi:**

Kyubi kept his word, and as soon as his containers' watch beeped to indicate it was midnight, he jumped at the cage door, shattering the seal and rushing out, intent on getting out of this retched body ASAP. However, as soon as he stepped out of the confines of his cage he realised that something was wrong. Very wrong. Logically, if he charged through the walls, he would burst out of the boy's stomach and reappear in the real world, however, the shattered pieces of the seal had stopped moving away and were floating in the air. They flashed bright white, and flung themselves at the Kyubi. The Kyubi roared in pain. He felt his chakra draining from his body at an alarming rate, and start to seep into the walls like when the boy needed a quick fix of chakra. However, this was no ordinary quick fix. His entire chakra reserves were being drained and rapidly. Kyubi finally realised what the real intention of the Shikifuujin was.

"**NO! The real purpose of the seal was not to contain me until someone could deal with me, but to seal me until my container's chakra system could handle all of my chakra and powers! The Shikifuujin was meant to eventually absorb me into the brat! GOD DAMN YOU YONDAIME! YOU PLAUGE ME EVEN AFTER DEATH! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL FOR THIS!"**

With that said, the Kyubi's form began to dissapate and sink into the walls. Unknown to Naruto, Nibi was going through the exact same process with Yukiko. Akatsuki began to set their plans into motion once they felt the surge of chakra wash over them. However, after a few moments, the chakra died away. They stared at each other in disbelief. Itachi had realised why Naruto had insisted on the third condition to the deal and slumped. Kisame realised too. They all charged to Naruto and Yukiko's position, only to find both of them sweating profusely and groaning in pain. The Akatsuki leader was pissed off to say the least.

"What the hell is this?"

Itachi answered.

"It seems that Naruto-Kun knew something like this would happen. Both of them have absorbed their demons."

The leader's face contorted in rage. Just then, Jiraiya, Gaara, Sora and Hotaru came into the clearing. Jiraiya had a very satisfied smirk on his face.

"And so the great Akatsuki's plans are foiled. I don't know what you planned to do with Kyubi and Nibi, but they no longer exist."

The leader growled and looked at the two children with a look that could only be described as pure and utter hatred. He then looked at Jiraiya with the same look.

"We will have to rethink our stratergy. Retreat."

With that last word, the nine members of Akatsukivanished, leaving nothing but swirling clouds of dust around where their feet used to be. Jiraiya looked down at the couple and noticed they were suffering from an overwhelming amount of pain. He felt their foreheads and noticed that their temperature was rising. It was already over 40 degrees (celcius, which is about 100 F) Jiraiya sighed.

"They'll die at this rate. With Yukiko as our main healer, it's unlikely that she can heal herself or Naruto in this state."

Hotaru walked up to them.

"Then I'll do it."

They looked at Hotaru in confusion, but she just smirked.

"The phoenix was known as the ledgendary healer who could heal all ailments, even death."

Jiraiya nodded and stepped back. Hotaru closed her eyes in concentraition, before activating her Dead Demon Seal level one. When her chakra armour covered her shoulder blades, it shot out and formed wings of flame. The rest of her armour was made of fire too. She walked over to Naruto and Yukiko and bent her chakra wings to cover each of them. She formed the seal of the ram and whispered the name of the technique.

"Healing Type: Phoenix Feathers!"

Several feathers on the tips of her wings separated and floated slowly down onto Naruto and Yukiko. Once the first feather touched them, it pulsed in red light before it slowly sunk into their bodies as if their skin was made of water. Once it had sunk into their skin, Naruto and Yukiko lost a lot of their pained expression, however, they still didn't fully recover. She sighed and lent down, hanging her head over Naruto and announced her technique.

"Healing Type: Phoenix Tears."

With that, she let a few tears go, which dropped down and hit Naruto's face. Once they did, they began glowing with an eerie light. Naruto's gasps for breath settled down and eventually became a regulated, deep pattern of breaths that would indicate he was sleeping peacefully. Hotaru then repeated the process with Yukiko, who had a simmilar reaction to the technique that Naruto did. Hotaru got up, deactivating her chakra armour and smiled at the others.

"They'll be fine, they just need to rest."

They nodded. Sora walked forward and picked Yukiko up, and began walking back to the house. Gaara walked forward and picked Naruto up, following Sora. Hotaru follwed close behind while Jiraiya brought up the rear.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A Week Later, At the House:**

Everyone had been worried sick about Naruto and Yukiko. They had not woken in a week. Even despite that, they would never give up hope that their friends woulrd return to them. Little did they know at that exact moment, said people were stiring.

Naruto grumbled slightly and woke up to the smell of food.

_'Strange... I never remember being able to smell food downtstairs, even if it gave off the most potent aroma...'_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and found the world to be rather blurry. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and blinked in shock.

_'Since when was everything so... Detailed?'_

Naruto them heard sounds. He focused his ears and tried to pick up what they were. The most obvious was Yukiko's breathing. The next was her heartbeat. Naruto's eyes widened.

_'I... I can here Yukiko-Chan's heartbeat!'_

He focused his ears again and he could make out shuffling footsteps downstairs, as well as conversation. Naruto could also hear things outside. He focused harder and heared the faint breeze whistling though the trees. Naruto shook his head in desbelief.

_'This has gotta be a dream...'_

An all to familiar voice in Naruto's head spoke up.

_**'Is it, brat?'**_

Naruto stopped dead.

_'K... Kyubi!'_

_**'Yeah, what do you want, kit?'**_

_'Didn't you escape? Why do I feel like you aren't in your cage?'_

_**'I didn't escape, and I'm not in my cage.'**_

This was just getting wierder and wierder.

_'Then if you're not in your cage and you didn't escape... Does that mean you merged with me?'_

_**'Yeah, although I really wish that wasn't the case.'**_

Naruto decided to rub his victory in a little.

_'It seems that the oh so great lord of all demons can't even beat a human, eh?'_

The fox sulked.

_**'Shut it, brat.'**_

Naruto thought about the possibilities.

_'So that means that since we merged, I have your powers, right?'_

_**'Seems so.'**_

_'Well, that would explain the enhanced senses. One thing I don't get is that if I absorbed you, why are you still able to talk to me?'_

The Kyubi thought about this for a moment before answering.

_**'The only reason I can come up with is that I still exist as part of your conciousness. I guess you could compare it to that Sakura girl with her split personality, although that's the closest I can get for an example.'**_

_'Eh? Sakura-Chan has a second personality?'_

The fox sighed.

_**'Yes. You remember during the Chunin preliminaries when that Ino girl used her mind transfer technique on Sakura and she was forced out, muttering something about having a second mind?'**_

Naruto thought back to that event, and realised what Kyubi was getting at.

_'Oh THAT'S what you mean by a split personallity? So you'll be my annoying inner devil who will always tempt me to commit sins and make annoying comments at every opportunity?'_

The fox sulked again. He was being talked down to by a human and there was nothing he could do about it.

_**'You can get really annoying at times, you know brat?'**_

Naruto laughed out loud before replying to Kyubi.

_'You're one to talk.'_

The laugh had stirred Yukiko from her sleep. Naruto noticed this and kissed her forehead.

"Rise and shine, sweety."

Yukiko heard that voice and froze. Yukiko's thoughts raced at a mile a minute.

_'That's... Naruto-Kun's voice! Does that mean we died?'_

_**'Hardly.'**_

Yuikiko's mind was now in overflow.

_'Nibi? Is that you?'_

_**'The one and only.'**_

_'But... We died!'_

_**'If you think you died, then open your eyes.'**_

Yukiko slowly opened her eyes. Once she did and had let her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw that she was indeed alive. However, the Naruto in front of her had changed significantly.

"Naruto-Kun? Is that you?"

Naruto smiled his trademark foxy grin, which now made him look even more 'foxy' than before. Yukiko looked over Naruto's changed body. Naruto's hair was practically the same, except for two long blonde bangs that were hanging down either side of his face. He'd lost every bit of that baby fat on his face, making his face lean and much more mature. His whisker marks had darkened and lengthened and his canines were slightly longer. However, it was his eyes that caught her attention. His eyes were still the normal cerulean blue, but the normally small round pupil was now an elongated like when he let Kyubi's chakra flow into him. Naruto was also admiring Yukiko. She had lost the small amount of baby fat she had on her face, making it very lean and beautiful. Her canines had elongated slightly, and her pupils were now eliptical. Yukiko hugged Naruto, practically breaking his bones.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

Naruto gasped and tried to warn Yukiko of the strength she was using.

"Yukiko-Chan... Can't... Breathe..."

Yukiko lessend her grip on him and put her head into his chest. At this point, their door burst open and everyone came into the room when they heard Yukiko shout. Jiraiya was the first to talk.

"Naruto, Yukiko? Are you guys awake?"

The sleeping bag russled before a hand came out, waving at them.

"Yeah, we're good."

They sighed and smiled. Naruto sighed as he held Yukiko in his arms, knowing that they would never be separated now.

"Ano, could you guys give us a few minutes? We'll be down soon."

They nodded, not expecting Naruto to notice and walked out the door, closing it behind them. Once the door was closed, Yukiko snuggled up to Naruto, content with the fact that she was alive. After a few minutes, Naruto sighed.

"Let's go see our friends, shall we?"

Yukiko nodded and got out, followed by Naruto. Once they were out, they noticed other changes to their two bodies. They both had extended finger nails, however not to the extent that they got to when they called our their demonic chakra. Naruto noticed that his body looked more mature, with his muscles slightly larger than just a week ago, while Yukiko noticed that her curves had become more defined. They both admired their bodies. Naruto turned to Yukiko.

"I could definitely get used to this."

Yukiko nodded, flashing her teeth. For some reason, this made Naruto... Hungry? Not in a litteral sense, but hungry for something else. He sighed and pushed the thought to the back of his mind and got changed. He decided to leave off the red vest, opting for the black tank top. Once he had dressed, he noticed Yukiko had as well. They walked hand in hand out the door and down the stairs. When they arrived, everyone turned smiling, however their faces lost the smile and turned into a look of pure interest. Naruto was confused.

"Eh? What's so amusing?"

Sora spoke up.

"It seems since you two merged with your demons, it had some... Interesting side effects."

"Oh these you mean? Yeah, they're awesome! I mean, I can hear each of your heartbeats and a bunch of other cool things!"

Everyone's eyes widened. He could hear their heartbeats with his ears? They had expected there to be some minor side effects from the merging, but this was well and trully beyond their expectations. The fact that Naruto was very good looking now didn't help. Every where they would go now, they were sure that Naruto would have fan clubs set up without his knowledge. He was lucky he had already found the woman of his dreams. That would keep all but the most die-hard fan girls at bay. Yukiko was also much more attractive than she was before the merge. She'd be in a simmilar state as Naruto with the opposite sex. Naruto and Yukiko's stomach growled, bringing everyone back from their thoughts. Naruto smiled sheepishly while Yukiko blushed. Jiraiya smiled.

"Well you two, I only got back from the nearest town several hours ago. I was expecting you two to wake up sooner or later, so I bought a lot of food."

Naruto noticed that the food Jiraiya had talked about was sitting in next to the backpack he had brought it back in. Naruto and Yukiko uncoinciously licked their lips and reached for a tray of sushi each. They proceeded to eat their way through the entire pile of food. Jiraiya looked in horror at the amount of food the two were consuming. Jiraiya started to cry rivers. Naruto looked at Jiraiya.

"What's wrong Ero-Sennin?"

"I spent an entire month's pay on that pile of food there..."

Naruto and Yukiko for the first time realised just how much they had eaten. They had already consumed ¾ of the pile and were still hungry. Sora giggled and Hotaru just burst out laughing. Gaara shook his head in disbelief. Jiraiya sulked before he motioned for the two to continue, which they did with renewed vigor. Once they had finished the pile of food, they sat back content.

"That hit the spot."

Yukiko nodded in agreement. Jiraiya continued sulking.

"I hope this isn't how you two are going to eat at every meal. No one could afford this much food, not even Sarutobi-Sensei."

Everyone laughed. Eventually Nartuo remembered something.

"Ano, Ero-Sennin, since this is pretty much our third year of training, aren't we meant to be heading into the west?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"I had planned on being on our way there now, however, due to the time we took off because of the seals, we are almost four months behind schedual. I'm going to give you five two options. One is to go to the Hidden Village of Stone, and then procceed into the west, cutting our time in the west by four months. Option two is we completely bypass the Hidden Stone Village and go straight for the west, however, if we chose the second option, we'll miss out completely on the Doton jutsus. Which do you want to do?"

The five of them looked at each other. Most of them had never been given such a choice in their life, to Gaara it was just another Kage like decision. They looked silently at each other. Naruto had a question he wanted answered before he chose.

"Ero-Sennin, what are we going to do exactly in the west?"

Jiraiya looked up at them.

"It will be a mixture of things. Fifty percent of it will be theory and study, while the other fifty percent will be to train in western style taijutsu. In the west, they do not have ninjutsu and few have genjutsu, however, those that do have genjutsu are very very good at it, some of them are on par with some of the masters of genjutsu in the east."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Do you mean that people in the west have genjutsu that is as strong as Itachi's?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"However, those that possess that level of genjutsu in the west are very very rare and are usually given positions of power because of it. It is unlikely that we will be able to learn genjutsu, due to our status."

Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"Status?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"Many people have gone seeking the west, few have come back. One of the few who did was the son of the Shodaime Raikage. He seemed to be half mad when he came back, claiming that the people of the west had the ability to transform themselves into humanoid like animals, and they had weapons of unbelievable power. He mentioned something about a box that when activated could level entire cities."

Everyone stared at Jiraiya like he WAS half mad. Gaara pushed for more information.

"I doubt that was all they could do. What else did the man say?"

"He also said that they had giant buildings that were tall and thin and they could move by themselves. Also, they are known to speak a different language then we do. It's called _English._" (See where this is going? If you haven't, they're going to the west of the second Naruto movie where Temujin came from, with a couple of my own little twists, of course :P.)

The word sounded very foreign to all of them. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to assume you're able to speak at least some of this _English_ language, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"When the son of the Shodaime Raikage got back, he was asked to write out and explain everything he knew about the westeners. One of the first things he wrote down was all of the language that they speak. The documents once he was finished with them were locked away, however, the Shodaime's son wanted to get rid of all the evidence he had seen, and broke into the place where the documents he had written were kept. He managed to get them and escape from the Cloud. Eventually, he ended up in Konoha. He was practically dead, and the Shodaime Hokage agreed to protect him in exchange for the documents. The documents were locked away and never spoken of again. That was until about the time I was a kid, just before Sarutobi-Sensei became Hokage. The Sandaime opened the message, and found it was written in _English_. He went and consulted the records and eventually found the Shodaime Raikage son's notes. He realised what these were and immediately began deciphering it. Once he had the complete message in Japanese, he looked over it. It pretty much said that they wanted to meet with a group of representatives from the west, ones of high ranking, saying they would expect them in 50 years to discuss matters of the east and west. Why they gave us that long, we don't know. Sarutobi-Sensei never sent the diplomats. The message was recived almost 50 years ago."

Gaara caught on immedaitely.

"So we're going to be the diplomats..."

Jiraiya sighed.

"If you really want to look at it like that, I guess you could."

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"This is an extremely dangerous situation. For all we know, we could be walking to our deaths."

Jiraiya nodded.

"I have already been given the clearance from Sarutobi-Sensei to go. He said that if you guys come with me, he'll make it into an SS rank mission."

Everyon'es eyes bulged.

"SS? Is there such a rank?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"There is, however, such ranking missions are kept absolutely quiet, as they are usually highly sensitive. There have been very few SS rank missions given out, less than twenty in total. So, what do you guys want to do?"

They looked at each other, before they all nodded. Naruto spoke for them.

"We want to go to the Rock first. We need to become as strong as possible before we go to the west. Also, it'll give us time to learn _English_."

Jiraiya got up and walked towards the door, seeing a bird waiting for him. He scribbled something on a piece of paper before attaching it to the bird's leg and letting it fly off. Jiraiya turned back to look at them.

"That was a message to Sarutobi-Sensei. It's telling him that we've accepted the mission. Ok guys, rest up because at first light tomorrow, we're heading out to the rock. We'll only spend two months there instead of four, so you'll have to train extra hard."

Jiraiya walked back up to his room and started packing up. Everyone else followed Jiraiya back up and started doing the same things to their room. Once they had packed up, they decided to turn in early for the night, hoping to be well rested for tomorrow.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A Week Later, on The Outskirts of the Stone Village:**

Once the five of them had redone their disguises, they approached the Hidden Stone Village. Unlinke the other villages they had been to, the guard when they noticed the five of them approaching smiled and demanded the gates to be open. When they arrived the guards saluted them.

"Greetings, Hidden Nins. We have been hoping that you would stop by here some time. News of your travels have spread far an wide. Tsuchikage-Sama gave us specific orders to have you escorted immedeately to him."

Jiraiya nodded.

"Please lead the way."

The guard nodded and then looked towards the gate house, signalling one of the other guards to escort them. The guard came out smiling.

"Please follow me."

They did so, hopping across the stone rooves of the stone buildings. Everywhere they looked was stone, stone and more stone. Naruto made a mental note of that to ask the Tsuchikage what the deal was. Once they arrived at the door to the Tsuchikage's office, their escort exchanged a few words with the guard at the door. The guard at the door nodded and turned to the group.

"Please wait here for a moment, I will inform Tsuchikage-Sama of your arrival."

Jiraiya nodded and let the guard knock on the door. They heard a muffled "Come in." and the guard entered the room. Less than 10 seconds later, the guard opened the door.

"Tsuchikage-Sama requests your presence."

With that, he let them in and exited the room, shutting the door behind him. The Tsuchikage looked up at them and smiled. He was a rather old man with white hair. He was rather tall, even though he was sitting down, they could guess he would be well over six foot should he stand upright.

"Greetings, Hidden Nins. It has been too long since I met with people like yourselves, please have a seat."

They took a seat and the Tsuchikage faced Jiraiya.

"I would assume you are the leader of this group to an extent?"

Jiraiya thought about this.

"To an extent yes, but they are almost as in control of our actions as I am. Tsuchikage-Dono."

The Tsuchikage nodded.

"From the reports I have received, you travel from village to village, doing high rank missions that do not involve fighting other countires and learn general techniques off the village instead of the normal payment."

Jiraiya nodded.

"That is correct. I am getting too old for this job and as an elder Hidden Nin, it is my duty to train my replacements."

The Tsuchikage smiled.

"I see. I would like to know your aliases if I may."

Jiraiya nodded and answered for himself.

"I am known as the White Knight."

Naruto who was to Jiraiya's left answered.

"I'm Red Fang."

Yukiko answered next.

"Green Death."

Sora smiled as she introduced herself.

"Bue Lightning."

Gaara introduced himself.

"Yellow Coffin."

Hotaru was last.

"Red Wing."

The Tsuchikage nodded.

"I'm sure the other Kage's have said the same but they are some unusual aliases."

Jiraiya nodded.

"That they are, however, when you see them fight, you'll agree that their names are deserved."

The Tsuchikage smiled.

"I'm sure they do deserve their names. Well, I'm not one for lengthy talks, and I have a lot of work on my hands. I have already sent my personal assistant to allocate you some living quarters. Please make yourselves at home here. Also, if you could report back to my office at 9 am tomorrow morning, I will have an instructor ready for you."

"Thank you Tsuchikage-Dono."

"You are welcome. It seems that Red Fang has something on his mind?"

"They didn't call this Village the Stone Village for nothing, did they? Everything is made out of stone!"

The Tsuchikage laughed and smiled at the boy. He could definitely come to like this child.

"Stone and minerals are almost the only available building materials we have in the Earth Country."

Naruto nodded and smiled, showing off his fangs. The Tsuchikage understood why he was called Red Fang. He smile and was about to continue when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in."

His assistant came in and smiled.

"Tsuchikage-Sama, the living quarters for the Hidden Nins have been arranged."

The Tsuchikage nodded.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

They shook their heads.

"I see. Please enjoy your stay in the Hidden Stone Village."

"Thank you, Tsuchikage-Dono."

The Hidden Nins got up and walked out, following the Tsuchikage's assistant to their assigned living quarters. They unpacked their things, and decided to go eat out. They were walking through the village, and notice everyone was gawking at them in amazement. Most of them were looking at Naruto and Yukiko.

"Oh my god! He's so hot!"

"Wow, did you see her? She's got a great-"

The guy didn't even get to finish as Naruto was suddenly standing in front of him. He talked to him just loud enough for him to hear.

"I advise you to keep such comments about my girlfriend to yourself."

The man nodded dumbly, and appologised.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

Naruto gave his trademark foxy grin, showing off his fangs. The man baulked. Naruto went back to the group. Yukiko put her arm on Naruto's bicep.

"I appreciate you doing those things for me, but I can handle them myself."

"I know you can. But that still doesn't mean I have to like them making those comments."

Yukiko smirked and gave Naruto a quick peck on the lips before they went back to walking towards the trade district, which undoubtibly was where most of the restraunts would be.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Half an Hour Later, in the Trade District:**

People were still gawking at the living legends walking through their town. After a few more comments at Naruto and Yukiko's physical appearance, of which some led to mirror repeats of the first one who was about to make an observation on Yukiko. Finally, they got to the food part of the trade district and let the smells and sights assault their senses. Although most of the village was just dull lifeless rock, at least the trade district had made an attempt to spruce things up. Everywhere was covered in lanterns and lights, giving the whole are a more warm, inviting feel. Quickly Naruto stiffened up. He smelt one thing which cleared his mind of everything except that one thing. (If you really need me to tell you, I'm dissapointed) Gaara may not have as sharp a nose as Naruto, but he still knew that smell when ever he smelt it, no matter how faint or mixed it was. Naruto and Gaara looked at each other and nodded.

"Ramen."

They both charged to where the smell was coming from. Jiraiya sighed, while Sora giggled and Hotaru laughed. Yukiko just shook her head. Jiraiya spoke up.

"Ramen it is then."

They arrived to find Naruto and Gaara already on their second bowl. When they stepped in, they took the seats either side of them. Yukiko was to Naruto's left, and Sora was to her left. Gaara was to the right of Naruto. Hotaru was to the right of Gaara and Jiraiya was on the far right. They all ordered their meals and began eating. By the time Naruto and Gaara were on their 13th bowl and most of the others not far behind them, the owner was starting to recognise their eating habits. Luckily, no one else was in the store and most people were not bothering to even look inside the stand. The owner smiled and talked to them with his back turned, preparing the next round.

"So, how's Teuchi and Shinji doing?"

Naruto, Yukiko, Sora and Gaara spluttered and Naruto got a coughing fit from a ramen noodle trying to work it's way down his windpipe. Eventually, Naruto looked up at the man.

"Excuse me?"

"It's alright, I went to the same ramen school as them. (Hah! This ramen school must have been pretty popular!) They've been sending me letter after letter about their favorite customers. Judging by the way you eat and how much you eat, I'd say you're their prized customers."

Naruto smiled and nodded.

"But please don't tell anyone about this, we're trying to keep a low profile."

The man nodded in understanding. Jiraiya looked at Naruto sternly.

"It's not a good idea to be giving away our identities so freely."

Naruto smirked at Jiraiya.

"It's fine. I can hear everyone's heartbeat within hearing distance of this conversation. I'd have noticed if someone was listening in."

Yukiko nodded.

"He's right, no one's listening in."

Jiraiya sighed and went back to eating. Naruto looked at the stall owner and smiled.

"So what's your name?"

The old man smiled. (GAH! How many old male ramen store owners do there have to be?)

"My name is Kenji."

Naruto smiled.

"Nice to meet you!"

Kenji smiled and decided to bring up some news in his most recent letter he had recievied from Shinji.

"Shinji told me that he made a competition called the Uzumaki Naruto eat-a-thon."

Naruto smirked.

"Let me guess, the aim is to eat thirty bowls of ramen. What's the prize?"

Kenji smiled.

"If you meet or beat the record, the meal is free."

Naruto laughed.

"Good luck. They'll need it."

The owner of the store chuckled. He then remembered another part of Shinji's last letter.

"Oh by the way, Shinji asked all of his friends if they met you to ask you if he could add another prize to the competition."

Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"And what would that be?"

"He wants you to meet the person who wins."

Naruto thought about it for a moment before he smiled.

"If anyone can do it, I'll gladly meet the person."

Kenji smiled and went back to cleaning the benchtop.

"I see. Well, I'm going to write him a letter tomorrow, as we send each other letters about every month."

Naruto nodded. He looked at his friends and noticed they had all finished eating. They got out their wallets to pay but Kenji shook his head.

"Please, consider this on the house."

Naruto smiled widely.

"Thanks, Ojisan!"

The 'Ojisan' in question laughed and waved at them as they left the stand.

"Please come by again!"

Naruto turned back and waved.

"We will!"

They all walked back to their rooms, content.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**9 am, Next Morning:**

At 9 am the next morning, the group had gathered out the front of the Tsuchikage's office. At nine am sharp, the guard came out of the door and motioned for them to come inside. Once they were inside, he left and quietly shut the door behind him. The Tsuchikage looked up at his visitors and smiled.

"Greetings again. I trust you slept well?"

"We did thank you, Tsuchikage-Dono."

"That's good to hear. I have found a suitable instructor for you. Please come in."

As the last three words were said, the door opened and a young man walked in. He was wearing the Jounin vest of Stone Jounins. He was very bulky, not that it was fat, it was all muscle. He had wedge shaped black hair that made it look like he had two ridges on either side of his head. The ridges seemed to go down the side of his head, blending in with his side burns, which blended in with his well trimmed beard and moustache. He had plain black pants and grey sandals on. His upper body was covered by a very lose fitting piece of cloth that could almost be reguarded as a shirt. He greeted them with a bow and waited for his exact orders. The Tsuchikage smiled at him.

"This a one of the Rock's finest Jounin. His name is Zubin, for obvious reasons."

By this time, they had all noticed a rather massive sword attached to Zubin's back. It wasn't as long as say the member of the Hidden Mist's Seven Shinobi Swordsmen they had fought in the Snow, it was wider but a bit shorter than his. He smiled at them.

"If you would follow me, I will begin instructing you in Doton jutsus. May I have leave, Tsuchikage-Sama?"

The Tsuchikage nodded and the Jounin turned and walked to the door. Jiraiya nodded and thanked the Tsuchikage and got up to follow the man, with the other five in tow. The Tsuchikage went back to his work. Once they left the office, Zubin walked down the Tsuchikage tower and when he got outside, he hopped up onto a nearby roof. They were surprised at the agility he had with his body, but they followed him never the less. Once they had exited the Village, he took a right and jumped from rock to rock much like everyone was used to jumping from tree to tree. Eventually, he stopped at a place that was pretty much the same as everywhere else. He turned around and faced them, smiling as he usually did.

"This is training ground number 13. This is where we will be studying for the duration of your stay. Instead of having to pick you up from Tsuchikage-Sama's office every morning, please meet here at 7 am sharp."

They nodded. Zubin looked over them, before he spoke up.

"Do any of you have any previous experience with Doton jutsus?"

Jiraiya and Naruto raised their hands, however no one else did. Zubin looked at them.

"How much do you two know?"

Naruto spoke first.

"I only know one jutsu, Doton,Doryuudan."

Zubin looked at the boy in suprise.

"You only know one, yet it's possibly one of the most powerful Doton jutsus out there?"

Naruto explained.

"My sensei while teaching me Katon jutsus got to the last Katon jutsu and explained that I would either have to learn all of the Doton jutsus leading up to the first part of the Katon jutsu, or I could try and go straight to the top. It took about a week of almost non stop training, but I finally did it."

Zubin smiled. He turned to Jiraiya.

"You also have experience in Doton jutsus?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"I can do about one quarter of all known Doton jutsus, however, I would like to polish up on my skills."

Zubin nodded and smiled, thinking where to start. He decided to start with an old favorite for new Doton users.

"Alright, I'm going to start with Doton Doruki Gaeshi. It's a fairly simple Doton technique used to gauge beginners of Doton techniques on their potential. There are no seals, however, it does require either a fair bit of strength and a small amount of chakra or a small amount of strength and a large bit of chakra. Depending on which you would rather use, I will tell you how to do it. Please pick which style you wish to use."

Zubin looked at Jiraiya first.

"Chakra."

Everyone turned to Naruto.

"Strength."

Yukiko answered the same as Naruto. Everyone else answered the same as Jiraiya. Zubin nodded and separated them into two groups, based on which method they were going to use. He started with Naruto and Yukiko.

"Ok, you two have basically picked the hard way, I like that. Although it's said to be the hard way, as long as you have the strength required, I'd actually say it's easier than using mostly chakra. What you have to do is slam your hands into the ground, obviously, and then you have to immediately pump a small amount of chakra into the ground. The amount of chakra you have to use depends on the amount of strength you put into it. Less strength means more chakra. Once you slam your fists into the ground, send the chakra out in waves to help break the earth into a roughly square shapped piece of rock. Once you've done this, use that chakra to force the wall into an upright position. That's all there is too it. Give it a shot."

Naruto and Yukiko nodded to each other and slammed their palms into the ground, causing the earth to rupture and crack. However, Zubin didn't expect these two teenagers to have such monsterous strength. Everyone wobbled slightly on their feet as two almost perfectly square walls rose out of the ground into an upright position. Zubin whistled as the two earth walls crumbled when Naruto and Yukiko stopped pumping chakra into them. Zubin smiled at them.

"That was great. I didn't expect you two to be so strong. Reminds me of myself when I was young, although even at your age, I didn't have that much strength. Give me a few minutes and I'll teach it to the others and I'll get you started on the next technique."

They nodded and sat down, watching the others. Jiraiya naturally got it first go, as did Gaara. Sora and Hotaru took three turns before they finally got it. Zubin smiled and brought them together again.

"Hah, you guys will know all the Doton jutsus in a matter of weeks if you keep this up."

"That's what we're aiming for actually, Zubin-San."

Zubin arched an eyebrow at Jiraiya.

"Oh? Aren't you staying for very long?"

"Unfortunately, our business requires us to leave in two months. We need to learn as much as possible in that time."

Zubin smirked.

"I see, well, let's keep going then. Two months is a tough schedual to deal with. Next will be Doton: Doryuu Taiga."

This went on throught the rest of the day, before Zubin noticed a bird circling the sky above him. He turned back to the group and smiled.

"Ok, today's lesson is over, Tsuchikage-Sama is summoning me. Please be here at 7am sharp tomorrow morning."

They all nodded and turned back towards the village which they could see in the distance. Right now, all of them were pretty much thinking of three things.

Food. Shower. Bed.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** There we go! So, that's the conclusion to the breaking of the seals. Did they die? Nu uh, told you I wouldn't kill my two main story characters. Also, I believe I said that this was most logical and believeable to everyone... Except gay people (again, forgive the jab at homosexuals, I just like the line without the attachment, however, if I left it off, it just wouldn't be a Joel Dawson line.) Well, the next chapter will see the 6 of them preparing for their journey to the west. Also, I'm deciding on something. In my story, the west is technilogically advanced, so I was wondering if I should eventually equip Naruto and the others with some sort of armour that brings out their power. An example of what I mean is that Naruto might get a black gauntlet that absorbs all of his chakra when he releases it into the gauntlet and he can use it in a way that would make him more powerful (think Naruto's strong enough as is? Nope, he's still gotta take down Orochimaru and Akatsuki.) How will it make him more powerful you ask? I guess it might be that when it sucks his chakra up, it expells it in a stedy aura around the gauntlet that increases physical damage when it comes into contact with things. Another possibility would be for example a pair ofboots that give them speed a bit less than Shadow's the Hedghog's normalspeed (just remember thatwhen Naruto goes into Kyubified form, he can run pretty damn fast, plus in the anime, he had a running style when fighting Sasuke that was too damn similar to Shadow'sto the point that it would beconsidered a breach of copywrite if Shadow's running style was copywrited.)(just examples, don't jump down my throat), or a pair of greeves that powerup their kicks, giving them like a less extreme version of Tsunade's powers. Oh and if you're wondering if Tsunade's going to be in this fic, don't worry, she'll still be the Godaime Hokage. Naruto's just going to have to wait in line. :P

So, the vote: Armour Part, or no?

**(A):** Yes Armour Part:

**(B):** No Armour Part:

Well, until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	26. Intermission 3

**A/N:** Yo! Sorry I'm late, there was a fire downtown and I had to stop and put it out with some water jutsus...

Readers: LIAR!

It's true!... Well, yeah anyways... Seems like I have a lot of comments to deal with, not that I don't like doing it, but it generally means less story for this chapter. Heh, not that there will be a story this chapter, as I'm going to put up the polls for you guys to vote in. Well, here are my answers to your reviews/comments:

**SotY:** Well, I'm planning to try and get thisstory up to 200k. I'm not sure of the exact number of words, but it WILL end at the end of the trip to the west. After that, I'll begin the next part of the series.

**NekoFanGuy:** Hah! Akira in heat again, oh god, that would turn nasty! Give me the word and I'll create a bonus chapter, but not until you're ready. I look forward to the next chapter, keep it up! Have a good weekend, and grats on completing the SAT 9!

**Dragon Noir:** Heh, I think they'll both annoy each other to death, making it a double KO. Hmm, so you want to know what seals are on Sora and Hotaru, and if Gaara's seal will do it too? Well, I haven't truthfully thought about how yet, but eventually, yes they will absorb their demons. OMG! Best. Idea. EVAR! I'm so intrigued by your idea that I'm going to take it on! Some others have suggested that I let them chose the armour's abilities too, so I'm going to put it up as a vote. It took me several chapters to get the first two years out of the way, and since the last two years are going to be in the west, I'm probably going to have the westerners give them the armour parts as a going away gift, meaning not for at least another 2 chapters, more likely 3 or 4, meaning that everyone will get an ample amount of time to vote. Although I really would like Naruto's gauntlet to be sort of like Loz's from FF7: Avant Children, without the little extending spike things on the end because I think it would suit him well.

**Intelligo:** Well, I think it was partly my fault that I didn't word the poll question properly, but I meant only one piece of armour per person, like say a gauntlet or a set of greaves or something, so no need to worry about whole suits, as that wouldn't fit with my story.

**Mage Ronin:** Well, Yes and no. Yes he had the potential to be stronger than anyone alive, however, the powers of Kyubi are being added to his own very, very slowly. Naruto and Yukiko's bodies initially tried to absorb all of their tenants' powers at once when the seals broke, however, due to Hotaru using her healing jutsus on them, their bodies stopped trying to absorb their powers. Humans were never meant to take all that power in one go. If they kept going, they would have ended up something like Mizuki in the filler ark, although he would have gotten off lightly compared to them.

**White Alchemist Taya:** Um, sorry for the misunderstanding, no it will not be full body armour. Each character will get one armour part, say a gauntlet or a set of greaves or a pair of boots, or something of the sort (lol, I was just thinking, a pair of Shadow the Hedgehog's boots. Now THAT would be spiffy!).

**xXxANIMEfreekxXx1234:** Well, I seem to remember saying that Gaara would use the sand in public to disguise himself. Jiraiya had a complete change of clothes and died his hair black, as well as using the Hidden Nin forehead protector to cover most of his face, especially his eyes. Also, Gaara only carried his gourd with him when out on missions or in between countries. Gaara wasn't the only sand user to exist, so they could only guess he grew up in Suna, no more. Also, none of them used their signature moves in public, like Naruto hasn't used Rasengan or Hiraishin no Jutsu, Gaara hasn't used Sabaku Kyu or Sabaku Soso. Jiraiya and Yukiko haven't used Ninpou, Hari Jizou and so on. They've pretty much been using elemental attacks and what not. Hope that answered it.

**Ki Master:** Man, you can read minds, can't you? That was exactly what I was going to do. The vote's just below, so go for it!

Ok, final scores for the vote:

**(A):** Yes Armour Parts: 10

**(B):** No Armour Parts: 2 (not including White Alchemist Taya's vote, as he/she wasn't sure if I meant full armour or not, which was explained above.)

Ok, so for the next vote, I'm going to let you guys choose each person's armour type and some of the abilities, depending on the type. Here are you options:

**Naruto:**

**(A): Gauntlet:** The gauntlet will be like Loz's in appearance, without the little extending spike thingies. It basically will absorb the chakra put into it and can form a multitude of things from spikes to a blade, a shield, and others. I guess the closest thing already in the series I could compare it too would be Kisame's Samehada, but it's still quite different to it.

**(B):** **Greaves:** These will be able to absorb chakra and then when the wearer wants to, unleash it from the surface of the greaves, giving it a way more powerful impact.

**(C):** **Boots:** The boots will be like Shadow the Hedgehog's in appearance, and also like them ability wise. The wearer can expel a constant amount of chakra into the boots from their feet, which is thrust out of the boosters in the boots, meaning that if they keep their feet flat on the ground and expel a lot of chakra, they can hover, with very limited movement, and I mean VERY limited. When they run, the boots will propel them forward at speeds similar to Naruto when he fought Sasuke in his normal kyubified form in the Sasuke retrieval arc.

**(D): Your Own Original Idea Here:** Basically, this is like a sub vote within a sub vote. You guys suggest one of your own ideas, and the most popular one at the end will be the final choice for option D. I will take the first three ideas, and those will be the final options.

**Yukiko:**

**(A): Gauntlet:** Same as Naruto.

**(B):** **Greeves:** Read above.

**(C): Boots: **Read the above two statements.

**(D): Your Own Original Idea Here:** Do I really have to say it?

**Gaara:**

**(A): Gauntlet:**

**(B): Greaves:**

**(C): Boots:**

**(D): Your Own Original Idea Here:**

**Sora:**

**(A): Gauntlet:**

**(B): Greaves:**

**(C): Boots:**

**(D): Your Own Original Idea Here:**

**Hotaru:**

**(A): Gauntlet:**

**(B): Greaves:**

**(C): Boots:**

**(D): Your Own Original Idea Here:**

As for Jiraiya, I really don't think it'd suit him, so NO ARMOUR 4 JOO JIRAIYA!

Jiraiya: No fair…

Shut it! You may not be my original creation, but in this story, you do as I say!

Jiraiya: 'Sulks'…

Any who…

Also, I got 200 positive reviews! **YATTA!**

Well, what the hell, I'll chuck in Naruto's bio just for kicks:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Name:** Uzumaki Naruto.

**Age:** 14

**Birthday:** October 10th

**Bloodtype:** B

**Height:** 5' 10"

**Weight:** 112 LBS

**Affiliation:** Leaf

**Rank:** Officially Chunin, now has power almost equal to a Sannin.

**Trademark Techniques:** Hiraishin no Jutsu, Rasengan, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

**Known Techniques:** Oodama Rasengan, Kuchiyose no Jutsu, Katon: Housenka no Jutsu, Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu, Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu, Katon: Karyuu Endan, Katon: Karyuudan, Katon: Fox Fire, Doton: Doruki Gaeshi, Doton: Doryuu Taiga, Doton: Doryuuheki, Doton: Doryuudan, Muzi Bunshin, Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu, Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu, Suiton: Suijinheki, Ingan, Shikifuujin, Double Four Element Seal, Five Element Seal, Kanashibari no jutsu, Youmane Ninpou: Jintai Niku, Nine Demonic Gates (He can currently open 7 of them).

**Preferred Fighting Style:** Ninjutsu & Taijutsu.

**Acquaintances:** Umuino Iruka, Sandaime Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, Jiraiya, Yakushi Yukiko, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Sarutobi Konahamaru, Sabaku no Gaara, Saito Sora, Yamamoto Hotaru, Hyuga Neji. (I'm not sure if I should include others here, so I'll leave it at this.)

Well, sorry to get your hopes up for their first wild trip to the west, but I felt it was necessary to do tis first. Don't worry, I'm already 11 or so pages into the next chapter. Until next chapter, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	27. Heading West

**A/N:** BWAAAAAARG! I had this chapter ¾ finished and then my computer glitched and it shut my open office. Normally, I save my work every 3 or so paragraphs, however, this time I was lazy, and boy did I pay for it. I lost about half the chapter and all of the A/N at the top, which were VERY extensive, as you can see. I believe a little bit of venting is in order. Owners and moderaters of this site, as well as my readers, please forgive what is about to transpire. This is where the story REALLY earns it's M raiting. Those of you with sensitive eyes and minds, you may want to skip th from the bold line underneath to the next bold line. I will be using a very funny flash file by the name of Onyxia Wipe Animation as inspiraon for this rant. I will be starting now.

**THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT LIKE EXCESSIVE SWEARING LOOK AWAY!**

_'Specula's computer has encountered errors.'_

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? QUESTON! WHAT THE FUCK? ERRORS! LEFT SIDE! RIGHT SIDE, MANY ERRORS!... FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! THAT'S A FUCKING 50DKP MINUS! WTF WAS THAT SHIT! IT'S LIKE ONE IN A FUCKING MILLION! FROM THE FUCKING NEAR COMPLETED CHAPTER, TO THE GLITCHED STATE, TO THE BARE BONES CHAPTER, IT'S NOT EVEN FUCKING REMOTELY IMAGINABLE!

/End Rant.

**IT IS SAFE TO LOOK AGAIN!**

/Sob, now I have to type it all up again... I hope you can forgive me for the above rant. Anyways, I'll get back to it now.

Votes:

Ok, First poll is the options for D. As I said, I'll post the first three options made and those will be your options for D. Here's what's been suggested.

**(D):**

**(I):** sleeves like sasukes, but black and made out of chainmail delicately attached together by chakra. can absorb chakra and create a sort of force field with it. - White Alchemist Taya.

Taya, I have to tell you right now that this is the most plausable option. In the second Naruto movie, one of Temujin's friends had some sort of ability called the plasma ball which either activated when anything approached at close range, forming an electromagnetic shield around her, or it was active at all times, and only became visable when something hit it.

**(II):** A headpiece that guards against and amplifies Genjutsus. - Ki master.

I think that this could be a decent idea. Although you suggested a helemt or headpiece, I'm going to go with a headpiece like Deidra's from the manga when he helps Sasori capture Gaara, as a helmet wouldd be too bulky. It's basically a mix between a monicle and half a pair of binoculars. Also, I decided that I'd have to modify it a little bit to do both your possibilities, both lessening opponents genjutsu and amplifying their own.

**(III):** A piece for Gaara only. A special metal sand that is lighter, thus faster, and finer so he can mold sharpened blades with it (yeah i'm inspired by sunagakure's sandaime kazekage) – Dradon Noir

You know, I think this is the only piece that Gaara could even use. A decent idea to.

Now, for the real poll, what each person gets. BTW, If you think that one of the custom pieces is actually suited better for a character and you picked one of the options I gave you before I introduced the three of your options, then I will allow you to repick, however, in your review, please state in the very first line that you are repicking. I will allow ONLY the people who picked before I put up your options to repick, everyone else only has one choice for each character. First option to five for each character wins:

**Naruto: RESULTS: Gauntlet.**

**(A): Gauntlet:** 5

**(B): Greaves:** 0

**(C): Shoes:** 0

**(D):**

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 0

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):** 0

**Yukiko:**

**(A): Gauntlet:** 1

**(B): Greaves:** 2

**(C): Shoes:** 3

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 0

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):**

**Gaara:**

**(A): Gauntlet:** 1

**(B): Greaves:** 1

**(C): Shoes:** 0

**(D):**

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 0

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):** 2

**Sora:**

**(A): Gauntlet:** 0

**(B): Greaves:** 0

**(C): Shoes:** 3

**(D):**

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 2

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):**

**Hotaru:**

**(A): Gauntlet:** 0

**(B): Greaves:** 4

**(C): Shoes:** 0

**(D):**

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 0

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 1

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):**

Remember, if you picked before this chapter was uploaded, you may pick again if you wish, but ONLY if you picked before this chapter. If you do, I will take all of your previous choices, take them off your first choices and add them to your new choice.

Now, for the comments/questions:

**Shinku Naito:** Sorry, no real hidden nins in this story. In truth, Jiraiya... tampered with the story slightly. Everything is true about the story up to the point of them retuning from retirement. In reality, most of them were so disturbed by the demon lords that they either went into permanent retirement or dissapeared. Where to, no one knows. Jiraiya just modified the story for his own personal gain, namely, to learn all of the elemental jutsus.

**becomingthis:** Thinking? Does it hurt? LOL, I'm joking. Well, hope you keep reading.

**White Alchemist Taya:** Heh, I had a fairly good idea that you were female. Also, you hit your head? So badly that it caused you confusion? Did you see a doctor or something? I don't think that's healthy. Thanks for the armour part idea, I'm definitely using it, as you can see.

**Ki master:** Oh! You can wipe memories? Is it possible to wipe parts of memories? I have parts I'd rather forget, namely 95 percent of my childhood. Yup, it was that bad. Anyways, as for Gaara's armour part, I'd have to agree with you. Not much Gaara could use, is there? The only thing I could think of was some sort of in between barrier that rests somewhere in between his shield and armour. Apart from that, there's not much I can think of.

**Zagen:** To tell you the truth, Zagen I didn't like it much either, however, I was still intrigued by the notion of a much more technically advanced part of the world from the part we're all familiar with. I'll try my hardest to not make it out and out wacky, however, it will still be different from the east. Kind of like how the Chinese Empire was to the Roman Empire in ancient times in the real world, I guess.

**smart-redneck:** Em... Sorry for sounding rude, but I had a really hard time trying to understand what you were trying to get across. As much as I hate to say it, I can only accept one of your ideas, and all of them are too simmilar to one of the already existing pieces on offer, so unless you can come up with something more... original I guess, I'll have to ask you to vote again, or come up with one completely original idea. As for the nullifying of the elemental jutsus, they can use an opposing elemental jutsu, or if they get it, the gauntlet to counter it. The only thing I can salvage from your review is some piece of armour that absorbs chakra when it's put into it for later use. And if you agree with this, PLEASE not a vest or something that covers the upper body, as that would severely go against the image I'm trying to give the characters. Sorry about that...

**Dragon Noir:** Um, I've accepted your first idea, as someone else suggested it as well, but I can't accept your second originla idea. Also, I said no body armour period. It wouldn't suit t image I'm trying to set for them.

**shadow frost 91:** Gah, how many times do I have to type this? Anywho... ONE PIECE EACH! And I'd appreciate it if you voted for the rest of them as well, so until then, your vote is not counted.

**Kyuubi-Sama:** I want to cry... Sorry, nothing against you personally, but I'm kinda getting bored with writing pretty much the same thing again and again... Please vote for everyone else...

**Alphabain:** 'Cries'... Not again... Read the above responses...

**Solar Guardian:** Well, I have no idea what time frame this is, but I've seen in the anime and manga that they do in fact have TVs, video games consoles, mp3 players and computers, however, they still have wooden sailing ships. How that's possible, I have no idea. And yes that 'little box' is a nuke... Guess it's just the screwed up world that is Naruto... Point taken about the gauntlets and the demonic nails, however, the gauntlet can form a mass of spikes on their command, which I think would be far more effective both psycholgically and physically on their opponents. If you need a visual on what I mean, kind of imagine Kimmimaro from the Sasuke retrival arc with his bones jutting out of his body everywhere. As for the gauntlet idea you gave, the gauntlet can already form a blade at will, so there's kinda no point in that... Also, I've already got the three original ideas, so I can't take any more new ones. As for your last question, I was hoping that absolutely NO ONE would ask that EVER. This is the question I was fearing the most. It would ruin the whole plot of the story, so I'm going to have to leave that one hanging. As for everyone else, please do not ask/pressure me for what their relationship will be at the end of the trip, all will be revealed soon.

**Katana Haibane:** HAH! I got your name right this time! Yeah, but you have to remember, the goal of Akatsuki was to DRAIN the bijus, and Naruto and Yukiko just absorbed them, pretty much turning them into what Kisame is. IE, buggering Akasuki's plans up royally. The only option they would have left if they wanted to harness the Kyubi and Nibi's powers would be to have them join Akatsuki, and IMO, the fics that do that sound so unnatural... Anywho, we've gone past that vote, so please vote again in the more recent one. As you suggested, I do not want any major body part covered with armour, so nothing in the form of helmets, chest pieces or leg plates. As for the idea of leaving their powers to me... I believe that a good author can take anything in his/her stride and run with it, also, the readers tend to enjoy it more if they have some control over the character's destinies. Also, as stated before, the three ideas have been taken, so I can't accept anymore. Also, I said no armour that covers a major part of the body.

**xXxANIMEfreekxXx1234:** Please don't make me type it again... I seriously wished I added the A/N of this chapter as a spearate intermission now... Oh well...

Rokudaime quote for the chapter: **ITACHI:** "I've always wanted to kill the world's sexiest man. But then I realized suicide's not the way to go."

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Japanese..."

"_...English..."_

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 22:

Heading to the West:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Two Months Later, at the Tsuchikage's Office:**

Two months had gone by, and the group had somehow managed to master all of the Doton jutsus they were taught in their two month time limit, as well as getting a basic grip on the English language. They had successfully completed over 10 S rank missions, meaning they had enough money to get them to the west and back. They walked into the Tsuchikage's office to say their farewell. The Tsuchikage looked up as they entered the room.

"Ah greetings. I've been informed that you will be leaving the Stone today?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"That is correct, Tsuchikage-Dono."

The Tsuchikage sighed.

"Is there nothing I can do to convince you to stay?"

Jiraiya shook his head.

"Unfortunately, a mission had been received by Konoha which will affect the entire stability of the east, and no one except Kage level ninjas or above have a chance of completing."

The Tsuchikage's eyes widened.

"Well, if that is the case, I will not keep you waiting. Thank you for stopping by in the Hidden Stone Village. I hope to see you again some time, preferably before I retire."

Jiraiya nodded.

"We will try to come back before that happens, Tsuchikage-Dono. Thank you for the hospitality."

"You are most welcome."

With that, the six of them filed out of the door and walked towards the village gate. Once they reached it, the guards saluted.

"Take care."

"You to."

With that, the group made their way to the edge of the Earth Country, through the small gap in between Earth and Fire, and then through the Fire Country, stopping at a small port town. The town was a rather small town, made out of what seemed like mostly pines from the surrounding area with driftwood attached to the walls in odd places, probably to cover up holes and other things. The smell of salt had been assaulting their noses for the past half hour as they approached the village. Once they had reached it, Naruto voiced his question he had been saving up.

"Neh, Ero-Sennin, how exactly are we going to get to the west? Isn't it across the sea?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"It is however, one part of the letter sent to Sarutobi-Sensei 50 years ago said to wait at this port, because we would be picked up here."

Naruto's eyes bulged.

"The westerners are coming to pick us up?"

Jiraiya nodded for his answer.

"We still have a few days until they come and pick us up, so I want all of you to study the scrolls of English I gave you until they arrive."

They nodded and went to the local inn, reserving a few rooms for several days. For the next several days, they studied the scrolls almost non stop. On the second night, they went to sleep, knowing that tomorrow they would finally meet them.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Third Morning of their Stay in the Port Town:**

Naruto woke up groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He took a whiff of the salty air and sighed. However, there was an unusual smell that was very, very faint. He sniffed again, before he could place the smell.

_'Oil?'_

Naruto hugged Yukiko and planted a kiss on her forehead, which he had realised by now was an almost sure-fire way of waking her up. Not surprisingly, Yukiko moaned and opened her eyes. Naruto smiled at her.

"See if you can smell it."

Yukiko breathed in through her nose several times and her eyes widened.

"Oil?"

Naruto nodded. They both got out of the sleeping bag and changed quickly, before they packed up. Once they had packed up, they went and woke everyone else, telling them about the arrival of the westerners. Everyone quickly got packed up and headed downstairs. Once they did, they paid the woman at the counter for their time here and walked outside. When they did, they noticed something strange. Normally, there were a few people walking the streets, however there was no one. Naruto turned to look at the dock and noticed everyone was crowded around the dock. Naruto looked out to sea and noticed a rather large boat; however, this boat was not like any boat they had ever seen. It was made entirely of metal, and it had no sails, however, it was slowly moving towards them. Naruto noticed that there were cylindrical shaped objects coming out of the top of the boat, and they had smoke coming out of them. Jiraiya nodded at them and they charged to the docks. Once they were there, Jiraiya bellowed at the people.

"Everyone, return to your jobs immediately. That boat is coming to pick us up, however the people on the boat do not speak Japanese. We cannot afford to have you people here, as they are expecting us and only us. Please leave. Now."

Everyone begrudgingly started walking back up the docks to return to their jobs. When the boat was several miles out, it slowed down and eventually stopped. Most people didn't notice what they stopped for, but Naruto and Yukiko used their improved eyesight to notice that a smaller boat was being lowered over the side and it had people in it. The boat was not made of metal, however it was not made of wood. The boat touched the water and Naruto and Yukiko could hear the whine of an engine and the smell of burnt oil. The boat was approaching at incredible speeds, how it managed that, they didn't know. However, after a few minutes, the boat pulled into the dock and everyone turned to face the occupants. There were two burly humanoids in full armour and they had a single red glowing eye. However, Naruto did not smell a living human presence inside the armour, nor did he smell a dead one. It was somewhere in between. They noticed the other occupant, who was obviously the person in charge of the boat. She was a tall woman, who wore tight fitting metal armour that hugged her figure. She also wore a white cape with red lining. She had blonde hair and red eyes. She bowed and greeted them in English.

"_Greetings. I assume you are the ones we asked for 50 years ago?"_

Jiraiya bowed and nodded.

"_We are. I am Jiraiya of the legendary three Sannin. To my left is Uzumaki Naruto, only son of Uzumaki Arashi, the strongest man to ever live in the east. To his left is Yakushi Yukiko. She is one of the two sole survivors of the most well known medic clan, the Yakushis. To her left is Saito Sora. To her left is Gaara of the Desert. He is the current Kazekage of the Sand. To his left is Yamamoto Hotaru. All of these people, regardless of their rank and social status have either one of the legendary nine demon lords of the east sealed inside of them, or in the case of Naruto and Yukiko, have merged with their demons."_

Naruto, Yukiko, Gaara, Sora and Hotaru were only able to follow parts of this and gathered it was some sort of introduction. They confirmed this when the woman's eye widened. She introduced herself.

"_My name is Ranke. I am the commander of the northern branch of our armies. Please come with me."_

Following Jiraiya's notion, they stepped into the boat, and Ranke nodded to the guard who was in charge of the motor. He pulled a string and the motor once again roared to life. The boat shot forward, making a wide arc before heading back towards the ship the boat had come from. On the way back, Jiraiya turned to Ranke.

"_In the east, our ships consist of wood and canvas sails. How exactly does your ship manage to stay afloat and move?"_

Ranke smiled.

"_Technically, any mass when placed onto the water can float, providing it gives a suitable amount of displacement compared to it's weight. We achieved this by creating a hollow hull with the lower part sealed off which contains something. I was never told what the objects were, however, I know that they are what keeps the boat aflot. As for how it moves, we have furnaces below deck, which are kept burning when the ship is in motion. The furnaces have vents which blow smoke out into an object called a turbine, which when the smoke hits, turns. This provides a lot of friction, directly giving us power. The smoke you see coming out of the smoke stacks come from the furnaces after passing over the turbine. I'm not a mechanic or an engineer, so I cannot give you a full description of the inner workings of the ship, as I specialise in military command."_

Jiraiya nodded.

"_The explination gave me more than enough of an idea of the basics of the ship, thank you."_

Ranke nodded. They were now almost level with the ship. Renke turned back to Jiraiya.

"_Do your friends talk?"_

Jiraiya nodded.

"_Unfortunately, they have not completely mastered the english language, although they are learning fast."_

"_I see. Excuse me for a moment, I have to give directions to get us back on board."_

Jiraiya nodded and turned back to the others.

"Did you catch any of that?"

They nodded. Naruto spoke up.

"I caught about 40 or so percent of that."

Everyone had apparently caught about as much as Naruto had, give or take five percent. They turned back to Ranke who was bellowing out orders. Just then, a pair of chains dropped over the side of the boat and splashed into the water either side of them. The guards with them in the boat picked the chains up and attached the hook on the ends of the chain to small rings on either side of the boat. Once this had been completed, Renke gave a hand signal and the boat was lifted out of the water. Once they reached deck level, Renke hopped out of the boat motioning them to follow. They got out and were escorted by Renke to what was the bridge of the ship. Once they got to the cabin door, Renke knocked.

"_Sir! I have brought the diplomats."_

"_Bring them in."_

"_Yes sir!"_

Renke opened the door and stepped inside, while Jiraiya and the others followed her. Once they were inside, Renke looked at her superior officer for further orders. The man finally turned around and smiled at them.

"_Greetings. I am the supreme commander of the western armies, Haido. Please, have a seat."_

Jiraiya nodded and took a seat, which the others followed. Then, Haido turned back to Renke.

"_Commander Renke, please go and make preparations to return to the west."_

Renke saluted and walked out the door. Haido turned back to his guests and smiled (He's not screwed up in the head like in the movie in my story. Here, he's a decent guy) They took in every feature of him. He wore a strange hat which they later found out was a bishops hat. He wore a monacle over his left eye. He had brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a mainly beige robe with blue linings. Taking his seat he smiled at Jiraiya.

"_Being the oldest, would I be correct in assuming you are their guardian?"_

Jiraiya thought over his answer before he responded.

"_In some senses, I am. However, they are as much in charge of our group as I am."_

Haido nodded.

"_May I ask your names?"_

"_I am Jiraiya of the ledgendary three Sannin. To my left is Uzumaki Naruto, only son of Uzumaki Arashi, the strongest man to ever live in the east. To his left is Yakushi Yukiko. She is one of the two sole suvivors of the most well known medic clan, the Yakushis. To her left is Saito Sora. To her left is Gara of the Desert. He is the current Kazekage of the Sand. To his left is Yamamoto Hotaru. All of these people, reguardless of their rank and social status have either one of the legendary nine demon lords of the east sealed inside of them, or in the case of Naruto and Yukiko, have merged with their demons."_

Naruto and the others now realised that this was a reheased introduction that would most likely be used when meeting everyone of high station. Haido raised an eyebrow.

"_Demons?"_

Jiraiya nodded.

"_About 14 years ago, the nine demon lords roamed the east. The king of the demons, Kyubi no Kitsune, was the most violent. He had nine tails. When he swung one, the tail could cleave a mountain in two or cause a tidal wave."_

Haido was now very interested.

"_And you say that these demons now reside within these five? How could something so massive fit inside?"_

Jiraiya smiled.

"_In the east, we use many techniques to aid us in battle. We are aware that some westeners have the ability to use Genjutsu, or illusionary techniques. In the east, we have another type of technique called a ninjutsu, or ninja technique. A specialised branch of ninjutsu is called fuuinjutsu, or sealing techniques. We use seals every day, in the form of exploding tags, summoning scrolls and others. One man was known to be a master of seals. His name was Uzumaki Arashi. He created entirely new seals the likes of which no one had ever seen. His most well known one was Shikifuujin, or in english, dead demon seal. The shikifuujin was unusual in that it was not just a seal but also a summoning technique. It was considered a forbidden technique, because of the cost of the technique."_

Haido was wrapped. He must know more about this.

"_The cost?"_

"_The cost was heavy. The seal user made a pact with the god of death. To use the seal, the god of death require two things. The soul of the sealed, and the soul of the sealer. Should the technique be successful, the two souls are destined to battle for all eternity in the stomach of the death god."_

Haido nodded solemnly.

"_That is indeed a grave price. And so would I be correct in assuming that the souls of the people who used the technique and the souls of the demons are stuck in your bodies?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_That is correct. However, as Jiraiya said, Yukiko and myself have absorbed our demons not too long ago. We seem to be slowly gaining the demon's powers. I can give you an example if you wish."_

Haido nodded.

"_Please do."_

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. His finger nails lengthened, as did his cainines. His wisker marks darkened and widened, and Naruto opened his eyes to reveal that his pupils were now blood red. Haido looked at Naruto in shock. Naruto smiled and let his features return to normal.

"_Although what I showed you is a partial demon..."_

Naruto wasn't sure of the next word, and turned to Jiraiya.

"_Transformation."_

Naruto nodded his thanks.

"_Transformation, if I was to undergo a full one, I'm afraid your subordinates would feel as if they were under attack."_

Haido nodded.

"_That was certainly suprising to say the least."_

Just then, the intercom on Haido's desk crackled to life.

"_Sir! We're ready to leave at your word!"_

"_Very well. Set sail for home."_

"_Yes sir!"_

With that, the intercom stopped crackling and they felt the ship lurch. Haido smiled at them.

"_I would like to know more about yourselves and the east if possible. It seems like a facinating place."_

Jiraiya smiled sadly.

"_It is indeed a facinating place, however, it is also rife with war."_

Hiado looked saddened.

"_It seems that humans cannot escape the need for war, no matter which part of the world they hail from.."_

Jiraiya nodded.

"_However, there are those who seek the ideal of protecting those people who are considered precious to them, even at the cost of their life. The five with me are such people, who would no doubt protect each other with their lives."_

Haido nodded smiling.

"_A very honourable goal. We are seeking such people to end the war back home. The war has been raging on and off for almost a century."_

Their eyes buldged.

"_A war that lasts for 100 years? Who could pose such a threat to your army that necessitates a hundred year war?"_

Haido sighed.

"_There are many people who would rather war and chaos to peace and prosperity. Tey have unfortunately banded together and formed a milita that specialised in underhanded tactics which they use to slowly whittle down our forces. Car bombs, suicide bombers, you name it, they've tried it. This greatly angers me that they try and stop our efforts to bring protection to the people of the west. All we try and do is help people rebuild their lives after these fools destroy them, and they attack us for it. I will never understand them..."_

Jiraiya shook his head.

"_There are many groups like the one you speak of in the east, however, they prefer working alone instead of being united under one banner, meaning it is easier to stop them."_

Haido nodded.

"_As it would. I seem to remember you addressing Gaara as the Kazekage. Please tell me what exactly a 'Kazekage' is."_

"_A Kazekage or any of the other four kages are the leaders of their village. They did not get to that rank purely because of strength. One of the defining criteria for becoming a Kage is that you have to be willing to put your life on the line to protect everyone of your village, no matter what it costs you. A lesser prerequisite is that a potential Kage must know at least 1000 ninjutsu, although this is not always the case. Gaara here knows less than 1000, yet he is still the Kazekage."_

Haido smiled.

"_So a Kage is essentilly the guardian of the village?"_

"_Yes. His or her job is to protect everyone in that village, and also decide how the village is run, meaning they make all the executive decisions of the village."_

Haido looked out into space for a moment, pondering over the information so far. He turned back and smiled.

"_I'm sure that you would like to hear about the west as well?"_

Jiraiya nodded.

"_It would be very intersting."_

Haido nodded and began to recount the history of the west up to the present day. By the time he had finished, it was already dusk. He noticed the darkness outside.

"_Oh! My most humble appologies, I did not notice the time! You must be bored senseless listening to me ramble."_

The others, he noticed were still paying him their complete and undivided attention. Jiraiay smiled.

"_On the contrary, that was a very interesting history lesson, which I think we all agree with."_

On queue, they nodded. Haido laughed good naturedly.

"_I see. Well, I think I will retire for the night. You may walk above deck or visit the first two decks below, but please go no further than that. For now, I will ask Renke to show you to your cabins."_

Jiraiya nodded.

"_Thank you for your time. I will be retiring to bed."_

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"_As will I."_

Haido nodded and pushed the intercom.

"_Sir?"_

"_Renke, please show the guests to their rooms."_

"_Yes sir, I will be there shortly."_

The intercom stopped it's crackling noise. Within two minutes, the door opened and Renke walked in.

"_If you would please follow me, I will show you to your cabins."_

Jiraiya nodded. They walked down the stairs leading to the bridge and along the deck. Jiraiya wanted to know something.

"_Pardon me for asking, but how long will the journey to the west take?"_

"_Depending on the whether, somewhere between a month and two months. One month being perfect sailing weather, while two months means the worst weather possible."_

Jiraiya nodded.

"_I see. Thank you."_

Renke took a final turn and stopped in front of six doors.

"_These will be your cabins for the journey. If you need anything, please push the button next to the door to open an intercom to the command centre. I will be there most of the time."_

Jiraiya nodded, and then remembered something.

"_Forgive the problems, but we will only need five rooms."_

Renke arched her eyebrow.

"_Five?"_

"_Yes. Naruto and Yukiko are currently dating, and they use the same room wherever they go."_

Renke smiled as Naruto and Yukiko blushed.

"_Very well."_

Renke watched as they picked rooms for themselves. Jiraiya took the one furthest from the wall. Naruto and Yukiko took the one next to him. Gaara took the one next to that, while Hotaru took the one next to Gaara and Sora took the last one they would be using. When they had all retired to their rooms, Renke walked back to the command centre.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Naruto and Yukiko's Room:**

Naruto let Yukiko go through the door first, which Yukiko smiled at. Once they got inside, they took in their surroundings. There was a single bed. The bed had a blue quilt covering it. Covering almost all of the floor was a red carpet with an intricate design weaved into it. There were tapestries hanging off the wall that depicted some sort of shield with intricate designs carved into it. In the far corner of the room was a desk. On the desk was a thick black book. When they inspected it they read the cover. Naruto picked it up and flipped it over in his hands.

"Bible? What's that?" (LOL! You can never escape Christianity!)

Naruto flicked it open and looked at it in confusion. He could tell some of it was written in English, however some of it was not part of the English language he had been studying.

"The? Thou? Thy? What is this thing?"

Taking the book, he went over to the button Renke had told them of. He found it and pressed it. Soon, Renke's voice came over the intercom.

"_Is something wrong?"_

"_What exactly is this bible thing?"_

There was silence before they heard laughing on the other end of the intercom. Renke managed to stop laughing enough to speak.

"_Please forgive me, but that was the last question I was expecting. The bible is the main religious scripture of the west. It's been around for a very long time. To tell you exactly what it is would require a bit of time. So why don't you meet me tomorrow morning and I'll tell you about it then?"_

"_Sounds good. Thanks, Renke."_

"_No problem. Sleep well."_

The intercom stopped crackling and clicked, to indicate Renke had cut the channel. Naruto released the button and went and put the bible down where he had found it, before noticing that there was a small bathroom attached to their bedroom. He walked up to Yukiko from behind and put his arms around her waist and whispered into her ear.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan, I'm going to take a shower. After that, why don't you take one and we'll go to bed, ok?"

Yukiko nodded and turned around to give Naruto a kiss.

"All this formality meant we weren't able to hug or kiss each other, and that was really annoying."

"I have to agree with you there."

They both cuddled for a bit longer before Naruto finally took his hands away and walked to the bathroom. Once there, he closed the door and striped for the shower. After several minutes, Naruto came out with a towel around his waist. Yukiko looked at him and smiled. This caused Naruto to blush. Yukiko walked past him, picking up her shirt and a change of undergarments as she walked into the bathroom and had her shower. Once she had come back out, she noticed Naruto was looking through his father's box again.

"Don't you think you know everything in there off by heart by now?"

Naruto shook his head.

"There's one thing I have to confirm. If I remember rightly, there's a final level to the Ingan. I'm trying to find out more about it."

Yukiko nodded and sat next to him, helping him look through the box. After several minutes of searching. Naruto found it.

"Got it."

Yukiko rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, which unconsciously made him rest his head on top of hers. He opened the scroll and looked straight to the last part of it, labelled:

'_Level Four Ingan'_

Naruto began reading it. Apparently, only about two Uzumakis had ever mastered the fourth level of the Ingan. This was because it required a rather unusual way of activating it. Naruto read it aloud.

"Like the Mangekyou Sharingan of the Uchihas, the fourth level of the Ingan can only be activated under a very specific set of circumstances. Unlike the Mangekyou Sharingan, however, you do not have to kill your closest friend to activate it."

At this, Naruto stared at the scroll.

"Itachi killed his closest friend to get THAT? I hate him even more now."

Naruto went back to reading.

"The level four Ingan can only be activated by creating your own major seal. Of the two known Uzumakis who have obtained this eye, one of them was Uzumaki Arashi, who created the Shikifuujin to save Konoha from the Kyubi no Kitsune. Doing this allowed him to activate his eye. As for the powers of the eye, it is said that one who masters the fourth level can bend space and time in their own mind to turn three seconds of real time into up to 72 hours in your own mind. This may not have many practical uses, however, it gives you time to create a completely new jutsu on the spot to counter a jutsu being used against you. However, just like the Mangekyou Sharingan, even Uzumaki Arashi could only manage to use the fourth level twice a day, or three times depending on what he did during the 72 hours. The amount of chakra expended and chakra regenerated depends on the amount of time spent in the level four Ingan and what is done during that time. For example, if you were to treat that 72 hours as if it was real time and trained most of the day, sleeping only 4 or so hours every 24, the amount of chakra you had at the end of the time spent would be equal to that of what you would have if you spent 72 hours in the real world doing what you did in your mind, meaning you would be almost exhausted unless you have a lot of chakra regenerating abilities.

Naruto gawked at the possibilities.

"So all I have to do is make my own major seal and I get it? Alright!"

Yukiko sighed.

"Naruto-Kun, do you realise just what that implies?"

Naruto looked at Yukiko strangely.

"Eh? It means I have to make my own seal! How hard can that be?"

Yukiko sighed.

"It means you have to make your own original seal on par with Shikifuujin, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto saw what she was getting at.

"Damn! That sucks. Oh well, I'll think over it tomorrow. I'm going to bed."

With that, Naruto put the box on the desk and put the Ingan scroll next to it. He jumped onto the bed and got under the covers. Yukiko sighed, and got in next to him. They got into the familiar position of Yukiko putting her head to his chest and her arms around Naruto's waist. Naruto had his arms around her upper back and rested his head on top of hers. As per normal, they listened to each other's ever slowing heart beats and breaths until they both fell asleep at practically the same time.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Next Morning, Naruto and Yukiko's Room:**

Naruto woke up to the sound of seagulls crying from overhead. He slowly opened his eyes to see they were practically in the same position they had fell asleep in. Naruto started his usual morning ritual by kissing Yukiko on the forehead.

"Rise and shine, Yukiko-Chan."

This time, however, she did not wake up. Naruto arched an eyebrow. The only time she didn't wake up from that was when she was in a deep sleep having a very plesant dream. He decided to wait and see if she would mumble anything out loud. Sure enough, she did. However, Naruto was not expecting what those words were.

"Naruto-Kun... It feels so good..."

Naruto's eyes widdened in shock. He checked his hands, and noticed they weren't touching any extreme areas. Naruto decided to keep listening. The next few lines she mumbled turned Naruto as red as a tomato. (For my younger readers, I will not put them here) Eventually, Naruuto couldn't take it anymore and quickly shuffled over to the other side of the bed. Yukiko groaned.

"Naruto-Kun... Don't stop... I was so close..."

Naruto turned even redder than before. There was no doubts in his mind as to what she was dreaming about.

_'Oh my god! She's dreaming we're having sex!'_

_**'About time you figured it our kit. Hell, go and make her dream reality.'**_

_'NANI?'_

The fox sighed.

_**'For Kami's sake kit, you're too self concious. I garantee that if you take her right now, she'll love it more than her dream.'**_

_'HELL NO! I'm not going to have sex with her until we're older!'_

The fox tried to tear his fur out, only to remember that he didn't have any.

_**'God, Kit, you can be so stubburn sometimes! DO IT!'**_

_'SHUT THE HELL UP YOU STUPID FOX!'_

The fox sighed again, this time in resignation.

_**'You're giving up on what could be your only opportunity. You'll regret this kit.'**_

_'The hell I will. I'm not going to have sex with her until we're both ready, and that's FINAL!'_

_**'Whatever. Suit yourself.'**_

Naruto smiled inwardly at his victory. He noticed that Yukiko was slowly waking up. He froze to see what Yukiko's reaction would be. When she looked at him, she noticed the mixture of looks on his face and she sighed.

"I spoke parts of my dream, didn't I?"

Naruto slowly nodded. Yukiko looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry Naruto-Kun. I'll admit that I've been wanting that to be reality for a while now. I can understand if you're not ready for it..."

Naruto put his arms around Yukiko to try and comfort her.

"Please, Yukiko-Chan. Niether of us are ready yet..."

Yukiko nodded.

"You're right, Naruto-Kun..."

He kissed her forehead lightly.

"I promise you, one day we will. Just... Give it some time..."

Yukiko smiled at the prospect. She hugged Naruto for the next several minutes before she let go.

"Let's go see how everyone is, Naruto-Kun."

"Sure."

They both got out of bed and did their usual morning ritual. Shower, hygiene, dress and were about to walk out the door when Naruto remembered what had happened last night.

"That's right! I was going to make a seal and get the fourth level of Ingan. And I was also going to ask Renke about that bible thing..."

Naruto slipped the scroll into his pocket and took Yukiko's hand walking out the door. When they had closed the door, they noticed that everyone was waiting for them. Jiraiya smiled at them.

"Morning you two. We were wondering if you were going to wake up at all."

Jiraiya smiled at them with his perverted smile, which caused Naruto and Yukiko to blush profusely due to the morning's events. Sora of course was left to do the usual punch to the head and muttered everyone's favorite pet name for Jiraiya.

"Hentai..."

Naruto tried to get the attention off him and Yukiko, so he brought up the subject of the bible.

"Ano, did you guys have a book in your room called the bible?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, I'm going to Renke to get a full explination as to what it is. Want to tag along?"

Everyone apart from Jiraiya really wanted to know what exactly this thing was, so they nodded while Jiraiya turned and walked towards the center of the ship, calling his answer over his shoulder.

"I know what it is, so I'm going to go talk to Haido. Feel free to meet up with me when you want."

They nodded and sighed. Naruto turned to the others.

"At least he isn't going 'information gathering'..."

They nodded their agreements and set off as a group to find someone who could direct them to where Renke was. Eventually, they found what they guessed was a lesser officer and Naruto aproached him.

"_Excuse me?"_

The officer looked up and smiled.

"_What can I do for you, Sir?"_

"_Could you possibly tell me where Renke is?"_

"_Commander Renke? She will either be in the command center or on the bridge. I suggest going to the bridge and requesting her from there, because only those of the highest ranking and certain staff are allowed in there. If you want, I can take you there."_

"_That would be great, thanks."_

The officer nodded and beckoned them to follow. He led them through corridors and up a set of stairs and knocked on a familiar door. Haido's muffled respose could be heard.

"_Who is it?"_

"_Captain Kahiko Sir! The Eastern diplomats have requested to talk to Commander Renke."_

"_Bring them in."_

"_Yes Sir!"_

Kahiko opened the door and led them in before quietly excusing himself. Haido smiled.

"_It's nice to see you again. I trust you slept well?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_We did thank you."_

Haido smiled.

"_Good to hear. Now, you wanted to talk to Commander Renke, correct?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_I will call her. Hold on for a moment."_

Haido pushed the intercom's button and it spluttered to life.

"_Yes Sir?"_

"_Naruto has requested to talk with you. Would you be able to come up?"_

"_Yes sir."_

The intercom clicked and Haido turned back to them.

"_She will be here shortly."_

"_Thank you Haido."_

Haido smiled.

"_You're welcome."_

Soon enough, Renke knocked on the door and came in. She smiled.

"_Ah, so you did come to find out about the bible after all. Well, why don't we go discuss it somewhere else?"_

Naruto and the others nodded and followed Renke out and to the front of the ship. Once they were there, she sat down and motioned them to sit with her.

"_Ok, this may take a while, but please stop me if there's any words you don't understand."_

Naruto nodded and Renke thought about where to start. (I'm not going to give an explination of Christianity here, as I don't want to waste space) Several times, one of them would stop Renke with a question, and she would answer them. Once she finished, she looked at them.

"_In the east, they have a god as well right?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_They may not be exactly the same, but we have a god who we refer to as Kami-Sama."_

"_Kami-Sama?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_Kami is his normal name, however, we usually attach a Sama suffix to his name to indicate importance."_

"_Are there other suffixes you can attach to a name in your language?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_There are a few, and the use of one depends on who you're refering to and their relation to you."_

Renke was now very interested.

"_Can you give me some examples?"_

Naruto thought about how to put the examples into words.

"_Well, if you want to address anyone formally, you would attach a 'San' suffix to their name. The closest I can come up with is calling someone Mister or Miss in English, however, we have another more formal title which directly translates into this."_

Renke nodded and Naruto continued.

"_Another one is 'Kun'. This is used only when addressing a close male friend. For example, a friend back home by the name of Lee would refer to me as Naruto-Kun."_

Renke nodded again, indicating Naruto should continue.

"_Another one is 'Chan'. This is almost exclusively reserved for addressing a close female friend. An example would be when I address Yukiko, I would call her Yukiko-Chan.'_

Rneked smiled at this and decided to ask her own question.

"_You said Chan can be used in other situations. What did you mean by that?"_

Everyone suddenly smiled at Naruto at the hole he had dug himself.

"_Um... It can technically be used when refering to a male, however, it should only be used in that sense when teasing the boy, or insulting them."_

Renke nodded.

"_Are there others?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_There is a few more. One of them is Teme."_

Everyone had a visable reaction to this, which Renke found rather amusing.

"_Teme?"_

"_Yeah. Teme is basically a very insulting suffix which translates pretty much into... Bastard."_

Renke smirked.

"_I'll have to remember that one. What about the others?"_

"_There's another which translates directly into Mister or Miss and is a lot more formal than San."_

"_What is it?"_

"_Dono, however, it's not just refering to someone as Mister or Miss, it's kind of blending a Sir or the female version of that in with it as well."_

Renke nodded.

"_So generally used for calling someone formally as well as with respect?"_

Naruto smiled.

"_Exactly. Another one is Sama. Sama is used only for those of the highest ranking or above, and is generally considered rude if you don't attach a Sama to the end when addressing them."_

Rneke nodded again.

"_Are there any others?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_There's another one used solely when refering to a teacher. It's the 'Sensei' suffix. It's generally a sign of respect for students to show their teachers. The rest of them are used when refering to siblings or relatives. What you call them depends on their gender and if they're younger or older than you."_

Renke smiled.

"_Just give me one example."_

Naruto looked up at the sky in thought before looking back at Renke.

"_One of them is Niisan. This is used when refering to an older brother. Although they're not my blood brothers, I would consider a very close friend back home by the name of Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara here my older brothers."_

Gaara looked at Naruto in shock.

"You... Consider me an older brother?"

Naruto nodded.

"As far as I'm concered, you're all my siblings, blood relation or not."

Although Renke hadn't understood the words that were spoken, judging by everyone's reactions, she got the impression that Naruto thought they were all siblings to him, which Renke thought was very cute. She really wanted to know more about their homeland.

"_Could you tell me more about your home towns?"_

They all stiffened up considerably, making Renke realise she had hit a very raw nerve. Renke appologised for her statement.

"_I'm sorry... I didn't think it would be so painful to talk about it..."_

Naruto shook his head and answered.

"_Because of our demons, and the number of lives lost when fighting them we were scorned and hated by our villages, reguardless of our social status. Our birthdays were the worst day of the year, as it was also the day that the demons were killed, and so they wanted revenge for their lost loved ones. I'm not sure about the others, as it's a pretty touchy subject, but I was mobbed every year. Sometimes, the villagers would go further and attempt to assasinate me, or in the mot extreme case, burn my appartment to the ground."_

Renke stared at them in horror. People did that to CHILDREN? Those people were worse than the demons themselves!

"_That's... disgusting..."_

Gaara nodded.

"_I was the focus of assasination attempts reguardless of the date. What was worse was that the assasins were sent by my own father. The last one was my only childhood friend, my uncle."_

Renke was staring at them with an odd mixture of rage, anger, sorrow and sympathy.

"_What.. Age did they start at?"_

Naruto turned his head to the side.

"_For me, 4."_

Gaara spoke next.

"_3."_

Yukiko looked down at the deck and muttered her reply.

"_5."_

Sora looked down at the deck.

"_I... Can't remember..."_

Renke turned to Hotaru.

"_Same as Sora..."_

Renke shook her head in disbelief.

"_It can't get any worse than that..."_

Naruto smiled sadly.

"_It does."_

Renke whipped her head around.

"_WHAT!"_

"_There is a criminal organisation called Akatsuki who seek us out. They are 9 of the strongest people alive. Their only goal is to find people like us and drain their demons, which will kill the container. We're the only one's left."_

"_You call that life? That's worse than burning in hell! If I ever go to the east, so help me god, I'll kill every single one of them!"_

Naruto looked up at her.

"_Don't."_

"_What?"_

"_Sure they're bad, but what they do is understandable. In my village, I'm slowly starting to make people respect me. And even before that, there were always people who were kind to me, despite knowing what I was. All of my sensei's knew what I was and still treated me as a human, as did the Hokage and my team mates."_

Yukiko nodded.

"_There were two people who were kind to me in my original village. The village leader and one of his assistants."_

Sora smiled.

"_My first and second Sensei's treated me well too."_

Hotaru smirked.

"_I guess my brother treated me well before he died."_

Renke turned to Gaara, who's face remained expressionless.

"_For a long time, no one treated me nicely. My uncle was just doing it out of pity, I guess. After he tried to kill me, I went insane. My only reason to exist was to kill everyone besides myself. However, when Naruto fought me, he proved you could only be truly strong when fighting for those people who are important to you and not for yourself. After that, I made friends with my Sensei, my two blood siblings and everyone here. Once I became Kazekage, people started to respect me, and I had more friends."_

Renke smiled.

"_It's amazing what humans can cope with."_

Naruto nodded.

"_Yeah."_

Renke however still wanted to know about the villages.

"_Um sorry for asking... But could you give me a bit of a backgroun on your villages? Leave out anything to do with the demons."_

Naruto nodded.

"_Well, in the east, the majority of people live in villages. The top five villages have a leader called a Kage. Depending on which village it is, the Kage is called something different. My village's leader is called the Hokage. The sand's leader is called the Kazekage. The mist's village leader is called the Mizukage. The Rock's village leader is called the Tsuchkage, and the Cloud's village leader is called the Raikage. To become a Kage, you need to be well respected and be willing to protect every single person in that village with your life. Also, another part of what makes a village known are things called Bloodline Limits."_

"_Bloodline Limits?"_

"_I guess it would be best to show you."_

At that, Naruto and Yukiko closed their eyes, reopening it a few seconds later. They had both engaged their Doujutsu.

"_What is that?"_

"_These are a type of Bloodline Limit called a Doujutsu, or eye technique. There a four known Doujutsus in the world, and Konoha is now home to all four of them. The only way to get these is to either have it transplanted from a person with it or be born into the clan it comes from. Three of the known Doujutsu are owned by three people or less for each one. In the case of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, there are two true owners of it. They are Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi. My sensei, Hataki Kakashi also has one, but his was transplanted. He never told us who he got it from. The Uchiha's used to be the strongest clan in Konoha, but Itachi went on a killing spree and murdered his whole clan except for Sasuke at the age of 17. There are four levels to the Sharingan, the first three can be achived by any person with it. The first three use a mixture of hypnosis, subtle subconcious suggesting and other skills to look like they can immitate the opponent's every move. Kakashi is the most well known Sharingan user, and he has earnt the title of Copy Ninja Kakashi, because he has used the Sharingan to copy over 1000 different techniques from others. However, the fourth level has only been gained by three or so people ever. It's called the Mangekyou Sharingan. The reason why so few people have activated it is that you have to have the right dna to do it, and then you have to kill your closest friend to activate it."_

Renke was shaking her head in disbelief.

"_The powers of the Mangekyou sharingan are startling. It can use two of the most powerful genjutsu known in the east. One enables the owner of the Mangekyou Sharingan to enter their opponent's mind once they make eye contact and slow time down for them, turning a few seconds of real time into up to 72 hours in their own mind. During that 72 hours, they inflict either massive physical or psychological torture on their opponent, as they can show people the past during this technique. To onlookers, one moment, the opponent is standing there staring them in the eye, and the next, he's on the ground in a crying heap. This requires a massive amount of chakra and can only be used twice a day. The other Doujutsu are less... Tragic. The most well known one is the Hyuga's Byakugan. When they activate it, they gain 359 degree vision, and they see everyone's chakra paths. I guess the closest thing I could relate it to are X-Rays. They have developed a devistating style of fighting called the Juken to work with it. Altough the Juken mainly consists of what appear to be pokes and palming, one little touch is enough to kill you. The Juken style of fighting emits chakra from their hands as well as every other body part, which no one but a Hyuga can do, to inject chakra into the opponent's body. The human body has two circulation systems, the blood and the chakra systems. The chakra system is exactly like the blood system, however, it has no physical..."_

Naruto was unsure of the next word, and he looked to Yukiko for an answer. Yukiko thought about it and then answered for him.

"_I think the word is substance."_

Naruto nodded.

"_Yeah. Although it has no physical substance, the chakra system is just as important to the body as the blood system. The juken relies on the theory that if you hit one of the 360 something points in the body known as Tenketsu, which the closest translation I can come up with is pressure points, correctly, you can either stop or increase the opponents chakra flow, therby controling the opponent's chakra flow as you want. Their main attack is a move that seals all of the opponents main chakra holes with 64 consecutive strikes. Against normal people, if the move is succesful, that's the end for them, they're out of the fight. For us though, we can just bring out a demon chakra instead of our normal chakra, making us the Hyuga's worst possible opponents. The last Doujutsu that's native to Konoha is the Uzumaki's Ingan, which you can see I'm using. The Ingan is probably the most varied Doujutsu of Konoha reguaring it's abilities. The Ingan gives the user mastery over seals, both hand and carved. Like the Sharingan there is four stages, each one gives more mastery than the last. The fourth stage is disturbingly like the Mangekyou Sharingan in the way it acts, however, the way to activate it is far less cruel. To activate the fourth level Ingan, an Uzumaki must create their own unique major seal. There are only two known Uzumaki's to activate it. One of them was a distant ancestor, the other was my father, who invented the Shikifuujin to seal the demon lords. The last known Doujutsu is Yukiko's Bloodline Limit. We're not sure what it's called, but it's use is purely for medical reasons, which would make sense since she's from the most respected medical clan of the east. I'll let Yukiko explain what it does."_

"_Well, my Doujutsu allows me to see inside a person's body and see their internal organs, bones, muscles and Chakra system. When I look at someone, depending on how much chakra I foucs to my eyes, I can see deeper into the body. Since I mainly specialise in medical techniques, I can find out directly what is wrong with a patient and treat it."_

Renke nodded, trying to absorb this information.

"_Are there any other type of these Bloodline Limits?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_There are others that are not Doujutsu, but like the Doujutsu, you have to be from the clan that uses it to inherit it. We've encountered one of the other ones, which is a combat technique. It's called the Snow Prison of Hell. It's used to divide a group of people up into separate sections of a dome made of snow. Altough it's made of snow, it's suprisingly strong, and it replaces all of the damaged parts by extracting chakra from the victims. The user of the technique attacks by gathering enough chakra from his or her opponents and then freezing some of the snow down into knives made of ice. These are expelled from the walls and stab the victims from every direction. Although the Sharingan can copy techniques, they cannot copy other Bloodline Limits. I've heard of only two others, one is simmilar to the one I just told you about. It's called Demonic Ice Mirrors. That's all I know about it apart from the fact that the user forms mirrors of ice and teleports between them at high speed. There is another one, which is actually very interesting. Yukiko knows more about it than I do."_

Yukiko thought about it.

_There is one other known bloodline limit that involves the clan member's bones. Adult humans have about 200 bones, while the members of this clan have an indeterminate amount. Their Bloodline Limit allows them to freely control their bones' growth, density and placement. They can grow bones out through their skin and not feel the slightest pain. I've heard a rumor that they can even remove their spinal cord and use it as a weapon and act as if it was still in place."_

Renke was staring at them in horror.

"_They can remove their own SPINAL CORD? That's..."_

Yukiko nodded.

"_I'll admit it wouldn't be pretty, but their bones can be made so hard that users of the Goken, which is the exact opposite of the Juken, can't even break that clan's bones. The Goken focuses on breaking bones and muscles with pure strength."_

Renke shook her head.

"_This is a lot to take in..."_

Naruto smiled.

"_I guess it was as much to take in as the history of the west we got yesterday."_

Renke looked at them and smiled, before standing up.

"_Well, that was certainly an interesting talk. I really enjoyed it. I should probably be getting back to the command center, as I have work to do. I'll see you around. Oh and by the way, lunch will be served to your rooms in about 15 minutes."_

They waved at her as she walked off, leaving everyone to talk amongst themselves. Naruto and Yukiko deactivated their Doujutsus. Naruto got up and offered his hand to Yukiko.

"I'm going to go and wait for lunch, because I'm starving. You guys coming with us?"

They all nodded and followed Naruto and Yukiko to their rooms. When Naruto got to their door, he stopped and turned to them.

"Why don't we all have lunch in my room?"

Everyone liked the idea, so they went into Naruto's room. After 10 minutes, they heard someone pushing a trolley towards them. Naruto opened the door, and smiled at the cook.

"_We're all in here."_

The cook nodded and pushed the trolley into the room. Everyone looked in wonder at the food. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. There were pieces of bread with fillings in between them cut in half, some kind of pasteries as well as other assorted things. They also noticed that there were no chopsticks, but there were metal impliments that they guessed the westerners ate with. The cook bowed and left the room, leaving them to pick some of the food off the plate. Naruto reached for one of the things that had two pieces of bread with fillings inbetween. He looked at the fillings and noticed ham, tomato, some sort of yellow stuff that smelt slightly savory and a green vegitable. He also noticed that on either piece of bread was some sort of spread. He took a tenative bite and munched a few times.

"Hey! This is really good!"

Yukiko smiled as she watched Naruto chomp down on the rest of the piece of food. Gaara decided to go for one of the pastery things. He touched it and noticed it was very hot. He picked up one of the plates and put it onto the plate, before reaching for two of the impliments he thought would best serve for this situation. He picked up what was obviously a knife, and another one that ended in four prongs. He squewered the pastery with the pronged inpliment and tried cutting it with the knife. He had no idea how to use them, as he'd only used chopsticks before. However, after a few failed attempts of cutting the food, he managed to cut it open to reveal melted yellow stuff that smelt savory and a green vegitable which he identifed as fairly close to a vegitable back home called Bock Choy (forgive me if I spelt it wrong). He cut a piece off and tasted it, before nodding.

"I like it."

Yukiko decided to go next. She reached out and took what looked to be a mixture between Gaara's and Naruto choice of food. It was probably bread, although the two pices had been toasted and pressed together, sealing the sides. She noticed the steam coming off it and got a plate and another pair of the impliments Gaara had used. She cut it open to reveal a mass of the melted yellow stuff as well as some meat which she identified as ham. She also noticed that there were dried shrivled up pieces of a red vegitable that she thought would probably be tomato. She cut a piece off and slowly tasted it. It was greasy to say the least, but it tasted great and was a lot more filling than eastern food. She nodded slowly.

"Different. I like it."

Sora and Hotaru tried some of the other pieces of food, coming up with simmilar conclusions to everyone else. In no time at all they had demolished the tray of food and had drunk all of the water and juice, however unlike usual, they were not hungry. Naruto wondered why this was.

"Neh, Yukiko-Chan. Why is this food so filling?"

Yukiko smiled.

"I'd guess it's because it was full of fat. That savory yellow stuff was almost 80 percent fat. Fat carries a lot of flavor and also fills you up very quickly."

They heard a knock on the door and Naruto went to open it. When he did he found Renke smiling at him.

"_How was lunch, Naruto?"_

"_It was great! Normally, with eastern food, we'd require three of those trollies to give us enough food for lunch, but Yukiko said that that yellow stuff was full of fat, and that's what filled us up."_

Renke smiled.

"_You mean cheese? Cheese is a staple in the west, much like I guess rice or noodles are in the east from what Jiraiya has told me."_

Naruto nodded.

"_So, what did you come to visit us for?"_

Renke smiled.

"_Supreme Commander Haido has requested that you attend dinner tonight at the officer's dining hall. Dinner is at seven, but please come about 15 minutes before that."_

Naruto nodded.

"_Will there be lots of cheese there?"_

Renke laughed.

"_Not as much as you had for lunch. Cheese is mainly used for lunch, although it is also used for dinner as well."_

Gaara interrupted.

"_For dinner, will we have to use these?"_

Gaara held up the knife and the pronged impliment. Renke raised an eyebrow.

"_Knife and Fork? Yes you will. I'm guessing in the east you use different impliments?"_

Gaara nodded.

"_In the east, we use two pieces of long thin wood called chopsticks. They are used with the first two fingers of the right hand and the thumb. We have never encountered these knives and... Forks before."_

Renke smirked.

"_Well, I guess we had better teach you how to use them correctly, as using them incorrectly is conisdered bad manners. Come with me, I'll teach you how to use them properly."_

They follwed Renke to the kitchen to get some knives and forks, and she began coaching them for the next few hours in how to use them properly.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** OMG, long chapter! For those of you who didn't like the second Naruto movie, do you think that so far, my story's ok? There's really not much to put down here, so until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	28. Wild, Wild West

**A/N:** Yo! I uploaded the first chapter of the trip to the west this morning, and I'm going to start writing the next chapter now.

Oh and BTW, if any of you live in Sydney Australia, and ever go to an internet café in Hornsby called GNI, and you meet a woman who loves butting into other people's conversations, please kill her... Or something… She 'claims' to have a degree in translation, although she loves misusing that 'knowledge' to interrupt others and throw her weight around. You'll know when you see her, because she'll rather loudly announce her opinion when she hears something she wants to talk about. All I hear coming from her mouth is 'I love to be egotistical and put others down.' Finally, today I snapped and chewed her out, which is unfortunately exactly what she wanted. As for what she looks like, she looks like the human manifestation of a pig, literally. She is also a female chauvinist pig. Uh huh, you can get female ones, however, they are rare. Oh and if you go to GNI on most weekdays, you'll find me there too. :P

Votes:

Ok, First poll is the options for D. As I said, I'll post the first three options made and those will be your options for D. Here's what's been suggested.

**(D): **

**(I):** sleeves like sasukes, but black and made out of chain mail delicately attached together by chakra. Can absorb chakra and create a sort of force field with it. - White Alchemist Taya.

Taya, I have to tell you right now that this is the most plausible option. In the second Naruto movie, one of Temujin's friends had some sort of ability called the plasma ball which either activated when anything approached at close range, forming an electromagnetic shield around her, or it was active at all times, and only became visible when something hit it.

**(II):** A headpiece that guards against and amplifies Genjutsus. - Ki master.

I think that this could be a decent idea. Although you suggested a helmet or headpiece, I'm going to go with a headpiece like Deidra's from the manga when he helps Sasori capture Gaara, as a helmet would be too bulky. It's basically a mix between a monocle and half a pair of binoculars. Also, I decided that I'd have to modify it a little bit to do both your possibilities, both lessening opponents genjutsu and amplifying their own.

**(III):** A piece for Gaara only. A special metal sand that is lighter, thus faster, and finer so he can mold sharpened blades with it (yeah I'm inspired by sunagakure's sandaime kazekage) – Dragon Noir

You know, I think this is the only piece that Gaara could even use. A decent idea to.

Now, for the real poll, what each person gets. BTW, If you think that one of the custom pieces is actually suited better for a character and you picked one of the options I gave you before I introduced the three of your options, then I will allow you to repick, however, in your review, please state in the very first line that you are repicking. I will allow ONLY the people who picked before I put up your options to repick, everyone else only has one choice for each character. First option to five for each character wins:

**Naruto: RESULTS: Gauntlet. **

**(A): Gauntlet:** 5

**(B): Greaves:** 0

**(C): Shoes:** 0

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 0

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):** 0

**Yukiko: **

**(A): Gauntlet:** 3

**(B): Greaves:** 2

**(C): Shoes:** 3

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 1

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):** 0

**Gaara: **

**(A): Gauntlet:** 1

**(B): Greaves:** 1

**(C): Shoes:** 0

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 1

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 2

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):** 3

**Sora: RESULTS: Shoes. **

**(A): Gauntlet:** 0

**(B): Greaves:** 0

**(C): Shoes:** 5

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 2

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):** 0

**Hotaru: RESULTS: Greaves. **

**(A): Gauntlet:** 0

**(B): Greaves:** 5

**(C): Shoes:** 0

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 0

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 1

**(III): Iron Sand: (Gaara Only):** 0

Remember, if you picked before last chapter was uploaded, you may pick again if you wish, but ONLY if you picked before the chapter before this one. If you do, I will take all of your previous choices, take them off your first choices and add them to your new choice.

Now, for the comments/questions:

**White Alchemist Taya:** Ok, fair enough.

**becomingthis:** Heh, ok. Yeah cultures can be very different. As for the chopsticks thing, get into it. They're very versatile once you can use them properly.

**Dragon Noir:** Don't like the shoes? Bugger… Well, Sorry about that. As for Itachi's thing you'd never hear him say, I'd have to agree, it's pretty damn funny. Ok sure, I won't tell you anything that you wouldn't find from the blurb. I specifically had to make the point that Haido is the exact opposite in my fic as he is in the movie, and I'll leave it at that. Since he's like he is in my fic, naturally, all his subordinates fell the same as him.

**Solar Guardian:** Meh, no problem, no need to apologize. I was just hoping that no one would ask it, as I wanted it to remain a secret as I slowly worked the story up to it. As for the longest story here, I don't know. I think I remember seeing a story that was 200k or above last time I checked, and I don't know if I'll get it past that. I'm giving myself a max of 9 or 10 chapters (actual chapters, not intermissions). Before this story reaches its conclusion and I start up the next in the series, which will start off with the team's reappearance in Konoha (minus Gaara).

**Katana Haibane:** Thanks. As for the evil Haido, well, there's going to be a technical opposite of him, although not like an evil clone. And to an extent, Naruto and the others will get involved, however to what extent, I haven't decided yet. As for the 50 year thing, at the time they sent the letter, they knew that the east was in the middle of a war from what they had managed to extract from the Shodaime Raikage's son, so they wanted to give them time to sort it out before sending the diplomats over.

**edwardelric6:** HENTAI! Lol, don't worry, Jiraiya will get back up to his old tricks with enough time to give Naruto the pre released version of Icha Icha Tactics to give to Kakashi. However, Naruto is a role model for me, and I will NOT turn him into a pervert.

**EVA666:** No way. Naruto's seal will have NOTHING to do with Christianity. As said NO MORE ORIGINAL IDEAS PLEASE. I really don't like repeating myself this many times. And don't worry about the double post.

**SABBOTH:** Why thank you :P Um, quick question. When you said II, did you mean for like everyone? Please get back to me on this.

**Nocturne del Shadow:** Not that I'm saying that everyone's crap at reviews, but it's reviews like yours that I've been hoping to get all along. Everyone else is telling me what I want to hear, which is cool, however, you are doing me a service. You are telling me what I need to hear, although too many people like you would make it depressing to write, as the things I need to hear hurt, however, I need to hear it. By the way you write, would I be correct in assuming you're a professional reviewer? Either way, thanks for that, I'll work on it. As for Hotaru and Sora, I'm going to start developing over the next couple of chapters. I also agree with you that the way I introduced them was unsatisfactory, but at the time I couldn't think of another way to introduce them without doing a chapter each like the first chapter for Yukiko. If you want a description of Yukiko, look at Mia from the Golden Sun series, but imagine her with slightly shorter hair and violet eyes. If you want a description of Hotaru and Sora, I'd put it in, but by the time they're ready to leave the west, their appearances will have changed. That's because they're both going to absorb their demons before they leave. As for the rifle muskets thing, read the AN at the bottom for the description of what stage the west is at technologically. Addressing the lack of description in fics 'turning you off' as you say means a lot. It means to me that even though I'm not very good at describing, it means I'm still able to write a decent story. Hope you keep reading.

Rokudaime quote for the chapter: **NARUTO:** "Forget being Hokage, I wanna be Clint Eastwood! mounts horse and rides off into sunset Yee haw! clip clop of horse's hooves can be heard horse rears Yaah! Naruto slides off thud"

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Japanese..."

_"...English..." _

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

**_'...Biju Thoughts...'_**

**"...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 23:

Wild, Wild West:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& **

**About a Month and a Half Later: **

Their trip on the ship had been interesting, to say the least. They thought back to their second night at dinner. Although they had spent several hours practicing with the knife and fork, getting used to them was extremely hard. When they arrived at Dinner, they were very nervous. Some of the lesser officer gave them disgusted looks at their manners. Eventually Renke had spoken up.

_"If you have a problem with their inability to use the eating utensils properly, then I suggest trying to use the eating implements of the east at dinner with proper manners after only encountering them for the first time less than half a day ago." _

That had shut them up. Although their manners were poor by their standards, somewhere between lower and middle class, the fact that they had only encountered them at lunch today and were eating so well surprised them. One of the officers, however, was not convinced, although he did not say anything, he snorted causing Renke to stare at him.

_"So, you think you can do better than they are, do you Lieutenant? Naruto, do you have a pair on you?" _

Naruto shook his head, however Jiraiya smiled and pulled out a small silk bag. He passed it to one of the waiters who handed it to the Lieutenant. He opened the bag and two ornate chopsticks fell out. He looked at them with interest.

_"You use these to eat in the east?" _

Naruto nodded.

_"Depending if you're right or left handed, hold them in your main hand between your index, middle finger and thumb. Use a scissor like motion to pick food up and place them in your mouth. Like this." _

Naruto indicated the motion which was second nature to him, which the Lieutenant noticed and nodded. He placed the chopsticks in his hands as best he could to imitate the action Naruto had indicated. Naruto and the others smirked. He was making a critical mistake that was common for most beginners; however, they let him try. The second he tried to pick up some food, as expected, the chopsticks clattered out of his hands. Everyone sniggered. Not about to let his pride drop, the Lieutenant tried again. And again. And again. Every single time, he produced the same result. By now, few people could control their laughter. The Lieutenant sighed and put the chopsticks back in the bag. Naruto indicated he wanted them.

_"You made a very common mistake for beginners. Your hand is not used to such a motion, and so you unconsciously tried to do the closest action you could to what I indicated, which is rubbing your thumb over your other two fingers. I'll show you how it's done." _

The Lieutenant passed the chopsticks to Naruto, who took them and went to the pasta on his plate which had been called spaghetti, picking up a small amount of it between them and bringing it up to his mouth, before taking a bite and chewing off the rest of it. He put the chopsticks down after he had swallowed.

_"Assuming you train from birth, it will take most people in the east about 3 months to learn how to use them properly from the time your hands are capable of such a motion, providing you have a decent instructor, which would mean someone who's used them from birth as well." _

Everyone nodded in understanding. The Lieutenant looked defeated. Renke smiled at him.

_"Next time you meet someone from the east who has never seen knives, forks and spoons, I suggest you have a little leniency, Lieutenant." _

The Lieutenant nodded.

_"My apologies." _

Naruto shrugged.

_"To tell you the truth, not too long ago, I would have done exactly the same thing you did if a westerner came to the east and tried to use chopsticks. No offence taken." _

Everyone apart from Naruto's group gawked at him. He was willing to forgive someone who had just offended him by insinuating he was of the lower class, and he just brushes it off like it was nothing? Jiraiya sensed this and answered.

_"Naruto is a very kind hearted boy. Although he was treated horribly during his childhood despite his heritage, it is extremely hard to anger him, except if you threaten or harm one of his friends." _

Naruto's friends nodded in agreement. The western officer's smiled. These were the sort of people they were trying to gather together to beat the militia. The rest of the meal had passed without incident. The rest of the month and a half had passed without incident. Everyone quickly got to know the five of them, and they grew close to them. Naruto and his friends started teaching them the basics of Japanese, allowing everyone to start slipping in and out of speaking English. Everyone was very quickly becoming attached to Naruto in particular. He seemed to have all the qualities of a natural born leader. One morning about one and a half months after they left, Renke came to visit them. She smiled at them and tried her best to use the parts of the Japanese language she had picked up.

"Morning everyone."

"Morning, Renke-Chan."

Everyone smiled at the suffix Naruto had added to the name. Renke motioned with her finger.

"There's something you should see."

With that, everyone came out onto the deck and Renke pointed skywards. They saw seagulls circling the ship.

"Seagulls means we're a few days away from land."

Naruto started bouncing around as he did when he was happy. Everyone smiled at his antics. Finally, Naruto turned back to Renke.

"Renke-Chan, where are we landing?"

Renke gave a blank look, meaning she didn't understand. Naruto switched back to English.

_"Renke, where will we be landing?" _

Renke smiled at them, understanding what he had meant.

_"We'll be landing at the imperial capital port of the west. From there, we'll switch transports from our naval flagship to our mobile transport headquarters. That will take us to the outskirts of __Antioch__ (there is a city in the real world called __Antioch__, and it was a major city in ancient times), the imperial capital city." _

Naruto nodded. They went about their daily routines they had established over the past one and a half months. They past the time away for the next day before there was talk on the ship about the port being visable. Once they heard this, they ran to the front of the ship and saw that indeed there was a port there. However, unlike eastern ports, it was under a thick cloud of smog. Naruto turned to Renke who was beside him.

"Renke-Chan? What's that stuff?"

Renke smiled, switching back to English.

_"It's pollution. The number of crude oil refineries here as well as the number ships coming in and out of the port means that there is a thick layer of smog here most of the time. This is the unfortunate result of technological advancement." _

As the boat got closer, Naruto and Yukiko could start to smell it. They gagged, making Renke look over them in a concerned fashion.

_"What's wrong?" _

Naruto and Yukiko started breathing through their mouths.

_"That stuff smell disgusting! Our enhanced sense of smell doesn't help either." _

Renke smiled sadly.

_"The only option I can come up with is that you use a thick piece of cloth to cover your nose and mouth. We do have gas masks, but it will alienate the people at the port, meaning we will not do them unless your life is in danger." _

Naruto nodded.

_"What I would do to have a set of Kakashi-Sensei's masks right about now..." _

As the ship got closer to the port, they saw a very tall thin object made out of metal. Naruto looked at it with interest.

_"That tall thing there... That's the mobile command center, isn't it?" _

Renke squinted at it before nodding.

_"Yes. I'm assuming the Commander of the Western Branch, Temujin, is on the bridge right now waiting for us." _

Naruto nodded. Eventually they pulled into the port, and guards like the ones they had seen so far in the full brown armour with the single red eye began to follow orders of the officers in command of the port. Eventually, the ship was teethered, and the connecting bridge to the boat was raised and connected. Several soldiers walked down the plank, followed by some of the lesser officers, then Renke and Naruto's group, followed by Haido and some more guards. The officers on the ground saluted them and stood in two lines, not moving a muscle. They passed the two columns and walked up a ramp into what appeared to be a platform of some sorts. There in front of them, was a line of green roughly retangular prizm shaped objects back to back. They all had windows evenly spaced, revealing the interior to be sort of like the insides of a coach. Just then, they heard a very loud sound that sounded like 'toot' coming from the front of the carrages. Naruto and the others whipped their heads around the second the noise was heard and got into defensive stances. Renke laughed.

_"There's no need to take your stances. That's the locomotive drivers letting us know he's departing in 5 minutes." _

They took a look at the 'locomotive' and saw that it was different from the carrages. It was a long green object that started like one of the coaches, and then as it neared the front, it formed a downwards slope. They noticed that it had giant wheels that were connected by links in a very intricate pattern that would at first glance look to stop it moving all together. At the very back of the locomotive, there was a space where they could just see people working and see fumes coming out of. Behind them, they saw an attached miniture carrage that contained some sort of condensed charcoal, which the operators were shoveling into the furnace. They slowly returned to their upright possitions, and followed Renke towards one end of a slightly different carrage. This one had tiny windows and it was made of thick brown sheets of metal. One of the lesser officer opened the objects door and let Haido, Renke and Jiraiya's group in. Naruto was very curious as to what this was.

_"Renke, what is this thing?" _

Rneked smiled.

_"Depending on which part you're refering to, this is called either a train when refering to the whole thing, a carriage when refering to the areas beside's the locomotive, or a locomotive if you're refering to the thing at the front." _

Naruto nodded. He still didn't understand how exactly an animal was going to move this thing.

_"So how exactly does it work?" _

Renke smiled and chuckled.

_"Seems we have a lot of explaining of technology to do once we reach __Antioch__. Basically, the operators shovel coal into a furnace, causing steam to be created. This steam is used to push a piston into a cylinder, which provides one part of the movment, however, this would get us nowhere alone, so when the piston reaches a certain point in the cylinder, a valve in a separate chamber switches and stops pushing steam behind the piston, and pushes the steam onto the other side of the piston focing it back the way it came. When it reaches the position it started, the valve above changes the direction of the piston again. This becomes quite fast when at full speed, allowing us to travel very fast." _

They just gawked at the prospect of the whole train being moved by the locomotive in front. They noticed that the other carriages were filling up with officers and the soliders. Once everyone was in, station hands closed the doors and a guard held out a white flag. The locomotive whistled again, and they lurched forward. Renke smiled.

_"That was the piston reaching one end of the cylinder." _

They lurched again, and again, but evenutally it became a smooth motion. They noticed a slight 'Chugging' noise at the start, which as they built up speed, became almost one continuous sound.

_"What's that noise?" _

Rneke smiled at them. They were just like cute toddlers who wanted to question their parents about everything.

_"That 'chugging' noise is the sound made when the valve changes positions. It casues a mass of steam to be expelled from the exhaust funnel and this causes the 'chugging' noise." _

Naruto nodded and watched the landscape blur by. Renke and Haido caught various 'cool's and 'amazing's in Japanese, causing them both to smile. As they went around a bend in the tracks that this train apparently followed, they caught sight of the mobile command center. It was another fifteen minutes before they began slowing and evetually pulled into a station. Station hands opened the doors, and the guards and officers piled out. Naruto's group was last out as they walked down two very familiar columns of saluting guards. At the end of the guards, they saw a man with long blonde hair and red eyes, like Renke. He also wore armour like Renke, however, his armour was silvery grey, and he also wore a helmet. When Haido approached, he got down on one knee.

_"Supreme Commander Haido." _

Haido nodded.

_"Commander Temujin." _

Tmeujin got up off his knee and smiled at his superior officer.

_"I trust the expedition went well?" _

_"Indeed. No attacks from the Mititia, and fairly decent sailing weather." _

Temujin looked at Naruto's group and smiled.

_"You are the eastern diplomats, correct? I am Commander of the Western Branch, Temujin. Please come with me." _

Temujin walked towards the mobile command center and what appeared to be the underside of it. As he approached, they heard the clanking of many gears and part of the underside lowered itself like a mouth, before hitting the ground with a soft thump. Temujin walked right up the ramp and into the command center. When everyone that was coming aboard was inside, the gears could be heard again as the ramp shut. Temujin smiled at them.

_"This is the bowels of the mobile command center. The bridge of it is located very close to the top." _

Naruto and his friends groaned.

_"You mean we have to climb stairs all that way?" _

Temujin, Renke and Haido chuckled. Temujin smiled at them.

_"The stairs here are used only in case of emergency. We have a far quicker method of transportation, called an elevator." _

They gave him a look of incomprehension, and Temujin turned to Renke.

_"Renke, how advanced technologically advanced compaired to the east are we?" _

Renke smiled.

_"In some parts, they're as advanced as us, but generally, they are quite far behind us. For example, they have televisions, video game consoles, portable music players and computers, however, they still use wooden sailing ships with canvas sails and horse drawn carts." _

Temujin raised an eyebrow.

_"Interesting. Very interesting. I will have to find out more about the east." _

Temujin turned back to them.

_"Well, it'd probably be best to show you what an elivator is, rather than explain it. Please, come with me." _

Everyone followed Temujin until they reached a wall that had big metal doors spaced equally apart from each other. They saw that to the left of each door at about hip level was a panel with a button on it. They also noticed a series of small lights across the top of each door. There were about 30 lights across the top of each door. Temujin walked up to one of them and pushed the button. They noticed that the light all the way to the right on top of the door lit up. It dimmed, before the light next to it lit up, and this process repeated until the light reached about half way. Naruto had a rough idea what these lights meant.

_"Each of those lights is one level of this structure right?" _

Temujin smiled.

_"Exactly. When each light lights up, that means that the elevator car has left the level before it and is approaching the level indicate by the light." _

Eventually, the last light illuminated and they heard a ding. The doors slowly opened to reveal a plush box. Temujin, Haido and Renke stepped inside. Naruto, Jiraiya, Yukiko, Gaara, Sora and Hotaru stepped inside. It was a massive box (you know, one of those industrial sized lifts) it easily fit them all inside. Temujin pushed the pushed the button and the doors slid shut.

_"This will feel a bit weird." _

They were wondering what Temujin had meant by that when the car gave a sudden shudder and they felt as if their weight has suddenly doubled. Their legs buckled unconciously, but the feeling soon dissapeared. Temujin smiled at them.

_"At the top, the exact opposite will happen." _

They prepared to feel the unsettling feeling in the stomach as the last light blinked on. However, like Temujin said, the feeling was the exact opposite. When they had started, it felt like their weight had increased, however, when they reached the top, it felt like they'd lost all their weight. The feeling stopped abruptly, bring back their normal weight. Temujin stepped out of the lift, and everyone else followed. They head the lift door close behind them. Temujin led them down a corridor into a lavishly decorated room with marble floors and walls. There was a red carpet up the middle of the room leading to a bunch of stairs with a seat made out of marble. Temujin walked up to what appeared to be a metal wall consisting of planks of metal. Temujin walked up to a rope they noticed and he pulled it. They faintly heard the clanking of gears and the metal wall slowly began to raise, letting daylight stream into the chamber. When the door reached eye level, Naruto's group realised just how far off the ground they were. Naruto wasn't afraid of much, but this was one of the two things he was afraid of: Height. The other was ghosts, but he hadn't encountered one yet. A speaker somewhere in the room crackled to life, and a man's voice they did not recognise was heard.

_"Sir! We're ready to move at your word!"_

Haido nodded.

_"Set course for __Antioch__."_

_"Yes sir!"_

The mobile command centre lurched and began moving off into the distance. Naruto was wondering about something ever since they got off the train. He turned to Temujin.

_"Temujin?"_

Temujin smiled.

_"What is it?"_

_"Um… When we got off the train, I noticed that the tracks kept going in the direction we're heading. Why didn't we just take the train the whole way?"_

Temujin stopped smiling and sighed.

_"It would have been much easier had, however, we have received numerous reports from our scouts that the Militia was anticipating we'd do just that, and they had set up multiple camps along the tracks. They would have destroyed the train by sabotaging the tracks. We would have all died. However, they fear the mobile command centre, because no matter how many assaults they have launched on it in the past, none of them has left more than a scratch on it. The structure is reinforced with 21 layers of a thick steel and aluminium alloy, making it strong but light. I think the most numbers of layers breached during an attack was 8."_

Hotaru nodded.

_"Not surprising they're afraid of it. Could you tell us a bit about it's defenses, apart from it's armour?" _

Temujin nodded.

_"I'm forbidden to tell you everything due to military secrecy reasons, but our main form of defence is our armour. However, should the situation call for it, we will stop and deploy our foot soldiers. If, by some cruel twist of fate they are defeated, we have several other defences which we have yet to use, and I hope for everyone's sake, both ours and the Militia that we do not have to use them."_

Hotaru nodded. The explanation satisfied her. Sora wanted to know something else.

_"How well armed and how many soldiers do the Militia have?"_

Temujin looked thoughtful for a moment.

_"The last time I checked was before I left __Antioch__, however, that was about a month ago. The last report I checked suggested that they outnumbered us two to one, however, they do not have access to the technology we do, meaning we are better equipped than they are. This is one of the main reasons that the war is such a stalemate. We can deal with them when they show themselves, however, for every one we kill, another two take his place."_

Sora nodded. Temujin smiled at them.

_"Now that you've heard our situation, I would very much like to know about yours in the east."_

Jiraiya spoke.

_"Our situation in the east when we left was one of an uneasy truce between the 6 major powers. 50 years ago, the 5 major countries were locked in an almost never ending war with each other for the right to rule the east. Eventually, after tens of thousands of lives were lost, they eventually realised there was a much better way of doing this, and thus the Chunin exams were born."_

Temujin narrowed his eyes.

_"Chunin?"_

Gaara nodded.

_"In the east, the armies consist of mainly ninjas. We use a mixture of the three styles of fighting to aid us in combat. I don't doubt that you use the most basic one, Taijutsu, or hand to hand combat. I have also heard from Renke that a few of you have what we call Genjutsu, or illusionary arts. However, for the vast majority of us, we use the third style of combat called Ninjutsu, or ninja techniques. The number of ninja techniques in the east is immense, no one person could hope to learn them all, even if they were immortal. The most basic rank of ninja is Genin, or apprentice ninjas. All students who hope to become Genins must pass the academy exams. For every country, the exam is different. For example, for the __village__ of __Konoha__, there are three tests. A replication, a replacement and a shuriken throwing exam."_

Temujin was very interested.

_"Replacement and replication?"_

Sora looked at Hotaru and they both nodded. There was a puff of smoke, and when the smoke cleared, Hotaru and Sora had exchanged places. No one had seen them move. The westerners gasped.

_"What was that?"_

Yukiko smiled.

_"That was the replacement technique. It is used when you are about to be hit, and there is no chance of escaping. You use pure speed to replace yourself with an object from the surrounding area, which takes the attack for you, while you disappear, giving you the chance to prepare a surprise attack."_

Temujin nodded.

_"And the replication?"_

Naruto answered.

_"For Genin, the replication is called Bunshin no Jutsu. It creates phantom copies of yourself that have no physical substance. However, there are more advanced versions of bunshins. Between us, I think we know every one of them. For example, there is a Jounin level bunshin called Kage bunshin, or shadow clone. Unlike the regular bunshin, the Kage bunshin create a clone that has physical substance. For each of your Kage bunshins you create, you must split your charka up evenly among them."_

Temujin raised an eyebrow.

_"Chakra?"_

Renke smiled.

_"Just think of charka as a second circulatory system that is just as important as the blood system."_

Temujin nodded slowly.

_"I guess the best way is to explain it is to show you."_

Naruto formed a cross with his fingers.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

A puff of smoke appeared and when it cleared, an exact copy of Naruto was standing next to the original. Temujin's eyes widened considerably. They both talked at the same time.

_"If you don't believe what you're seeing, poke me."_

Slowly, Temujin extended a hand a poked both of them. They were both solid. He shook his head in amazement.

_"Amazing."_

Naruto sighed.

_"There are limits to this technique however. I am able to create 1000 clones, but the weakness of this technique is that one solid hit and they will be dispelled."_

Naruto nodded to his clone.

_"Thanks."_

The clone nodded back.

_"No worries."_

The clone puffed into smoke and disappeared. Naruto turned back to Gaara.

_"Do you want to continue with the explanation?"_

Gaara nodded.

_"The rank above Genin is Chunin. For a Genin to become Chunin, they must be recommended by their Jounin instructor to participate. It can only be taken in teams of three, however, because Team 7 of Konoha had four members instead of three they made a special exception for them. The Chunin exam is different every year, however, the first test is always a written exam. The questions are usually far above a Genin's ability to answer, and so most of them realise they have to cheat. However, the aim of the test is cheat and not be caught by the Chunin's around the room. Depending on the village rules, the examinees get 5 chances each. Once a person is caught cheating five times, they are failed along with their team. The second test is different. The exam we participated in involved a five day survival course in a training area. In the forest were animals larger than grown men, few of which were carnivores, however, there were a few. At the beginning of the test, each team was handed one of two scrolls. The aim was to get to the tower in the centre of the forest with both scrolls. The final test is always the same. It is a one on one knock out tournament of the winners of the second exam. However, if there are more then 10 people left after the second exam, there has to be preliminaries to reduce the numbers to around 10."_

Haido raised an eyebrow.

_"And why would they do that?"_

Yukiko answered.

_"At the final test, most of the feudal lords and other very important people of the east are present. We cannot afford to waste their time, so we can only have 10 or so contestants."_

Renke made a logical deduction.

_"And so the winner of the tournament becomes Chunin?"_

Yukiko shook her head, reciting what she had at the preliminaries.

_"A country's power is the power of its village. The power of a village is the power of its ninja. If a ninja is seen as strong, it's village and therefore country are strong, which will gain that village more clients. However, if the opposite is true, and a ninja is seen as weak, their village will lose clients. If a village's apparent power degenerates to a certain level, this will alert the other villages that they are weak, and prime for invasion. As you progress through the exam, you will have more opportunities to impress the judges. However, it is still possible to awe the judges and earn a promotion even if you lose the first round."_

Temujin furrowed his brows.

_"Then that would mean that everyone could be a Chunin."_

Sora nodded.

_"However, it also means that no one could become a Chunin."_

The western leaders nodded.

_"So then, what are the criteria for becoming a Chunin?"_

Hortaru smiled.

_"A Chunin is a team captain, and is responsible for their teams' lives. They have to show leadership qualities and be able to strategise to ensure their teams' survival. If you are promoted to Chunin and come back from a mission saying 'I completed my mission, but my team's dead', you'll probably be striped of your rank."_

Everyone nodded in agreement. Temujin smiled at them.

_"Are any of you Chunins?"_

Naruto smiled and nodded.

_"All of the members of my team that made it to the finals were promoted. That means my team mate back home, Uchiha Sasuke, Yukiko and myself were."_

Gaara nodded.

_"I bypassed the rank of Chunin, however, I now hold the rank of Kazekage."_

Temujin raised an eyebrow at the rank.

_"Kazekage?"_

Jiraiya nodded.

_"In the five most powerful villages in the east, the leader of the village holds the rank of Kage. Depending on the village they are from, their prefix is different. The leader of the Sand is called Kazekage. I guess the closest thing in the Western army we could compare it to is a Commander, as there is no Supreme Commander rank in the east."_

Temujin thought for a moment.

_"I see. So they would have to posses leadership qualities to obtain that rank."_

Gaara nodded.

_"You also have to carry out the executive work, such as treaties, assigning missions to your villagers, and attending formal functions. However, a Kage must be willing to lead his ninja into battle should an all out war break out. You must be willing to protect your villagers with your life."_

Temujin nodded solemnly.

_"Although it is not a regular occurrence, a few commanders lead their armies into battle themselves. This is unusual, as the vast majority of military leaders though out western history command their army from behind a desk, while they send their men and women to die. I believe that is the way of a coward, and so I take those few commanders approaches and lead the army myself. While it is risky, I have noticed a 200 percent increase in efficiency from my subordinates when I lead them over what my predecessors achieved on their best of days."_

Everyone in the room smiled. Temujin turned to them.

_"Do you have a goal in life?"_

Every one of them nodded. Temujin turned to Naruto.

_"What do you want to achieve?" _

_"I want to become Hokage to make everyone in my village recognise my existence and to follow in my father's footsteps and become the most respected man to live in the east."_

Temujin's eyes narrowed.

_"Your fellow villager's ignore you?"_

Naruto, Yukiko, Gaara, Sora and Hotaru grimaced. Renke turned to Temujin.

_"Their past is worse than any westerner's. It's a disgusting story that makes me want to seek revenge on the east. However, as per Naruto's wish, I will not."_

Temujin turned to Renke in disbelief.

_"How can anything be that bad?"_

Renke turned to Naruto.

_"Do you want me to tell him?"_

Naruto nodded and Renke recounted what Naruto and the others had told her on the boat. Temujin stared at her in disbelief as she finished.

_"That's despicable. Yet you say he doesn't want to harm them?"_

Renke nodded, causing Temujin to smile at Naruto.

_"Amazing. Simply amazing. Naruto, you have every quality it would take to lead a branch of our armies. You will without a doubt make a fine Hokage."_

Naruto smiled widely at Temujin.

_"Thanks!"_

Just then, the intercom clicked and a desperate voice filled the room.

_"Supreme Commander Haido! Somehow, members of the Militia have infiltrated the command centre and are holding a number of hostages, ranking from private up to captain and are asking for you, Commander Renke, Commander Temujin and the foreigners to talk with them or they will kill them at a rate of one a minute until you do!"_

Haido shook his head in disbelief.

_"Tell them we will be down their immediately, and if they kill one hostage, they forfeit their lives." _

_"Yes sir!"_

The intercom clicked and Haido started walking towards the lift, when Naruto called to him.

_"Let me handle this."_

Haido stopped and turned around in interest.

_"But they have requested all of our presences. If you go down their alone-"_

Haido was cut off as Naruto announced his technique.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

When the smoke cleared, there was a clone for every person except Naruto. As Haido opened his mouth to protest, Naruto announced his next technique.

"Henge!"

The clones were surrounded in smoke again, but when it cleared, the clones were now mirror images of the others. The Haido clone opened his mouth.

_"Please let us handle this."_

The westerners were shocked beyond belief. Not only had he made a perfect replication of everyone, but the Haido clone's voice was perfect. Naruto spoke up.

_"I assume you have some sort of security cameras?"_

Temujin nodded dumbly.

_"From the command centre, we can see every corridor and room here."_

Naruto smiled.

_"Take everyone and watch how we fight in the east."_

Jiraiya nodded.

_"Naruto by himself has enough power to take out a small army. However, he would not use that power unless his friends were dying. In theeast, we have eight areas of the body where our chakra is most concentrated, which we call gates. By forcing these gates to open, we gain over ten times more power. If we open all eight of them, even a regular human would gain more power than a Kage. However, the effect is temporary. One who opens al eight gates will die."_

The westerners gaped, and Jiraya continued.

_"Naruto however is special. Since he was sealed with the Kyubi no Kitsune, his gates were corrupted and morphed. He now not only has an extra gate, his gates do things very differently compared to what a normal person's gates would do."_

Renke, Temujin and Haido had not heard of this part yet, and they wanted to know.

_"What do they do?"_

Jiraiya shook his head.

_"If we watch it, I'm sure he'll use at least the first gate."_

Haido nodded. He led the way to what appeared to be a blank wall, but he pushed a section of it, and it went back into the wall at his touch. The section of the wall in front of him slid back and went behind the rest of the wall. Haido led the others inside, while Naruto went to the lift. Naruto gave a thumbs up and smiled before he stepped into the car. The doors closed and then Naruto realised something. He had no clue where the Milita was. He was about to go out of the lift when the intercom in the lift crackled to life.

_"Supreme Comander Haido! They said you have 5 minutes to show up, or they will begin executing them!"_

The Haido clone looked up at the speaker.

_"Which floor are you on?"_

_"Floor 4 Sir! I will be waiting for you at the lift!" _

_"Thank you."_

The intercom clicked off, and the Haido clone pushed the button for the fourth floor. After 2 minutes, the lift reached it's destination. The door opened and the Naruto clones saw a very nervous looking man waiting for them, who saluted when the doors opened.

_"Sir please follow me!" _

The Haido clone nodded, and followed the man, imitating the real Haido's posture perfectly. Once they had turned several corners, the clones saw a man with a cloth wrapped around his head He had a number of blades attached to his body, including a massive sword that was a quarter wide as it was long. When the man saw the clones, he put his arms across his chest.

_"So I have the honour of meeting three fifths of the command and the easterners in one go."_

The Haido clone scowled.

_"How many have you killed so far?"_

The man remained motionless, however his eyes crinkled in what would be the position for a smirk had he not covered most of his face with the cloth.

_'So far none. The worst injury inflicted was a broken arm of an officer who pulled his vibro blade on us. We know how much you care about your army's well being, and that if even one died, you would attempt to kill us." _

_"What are your demands?"_

The man sighed.

_"No beating around the bush, it seems. I was hoping to have a nice conversation. Oh well. We have one demand. Turn the mobile command centre over to us unconditionally, or we will proceed to kill the hostages one by one until you agree to hand it over."_

The Haido clone smiled.

_"What hostages are you talking about?"_

Everyone looked at the clone like he was stark raving mad.

_"The ones in here! Who else did you think I was talking about?"_

The Haido clone stepped forward.

_"Why don't you check in there and see if you really have any hostages?"_

The man slowly shuffled over to the door and knocked on it.

_"How you holding up in there?"_

There was no answer. The man knocked again, louder this time.

_"Hey! What's going on in there!"_

The man kicked the door open, with his blades drawn. When he opened the door, the 'hostages' were glaring at the men who had been assigned to watch over them. In the middle of the room, was a clone of Naruto, who turned to smile at him.

_"You westerners are pretty weak, you know that?"_

The man heard a poof from behind him and noticed that the group had somehow changed their appearances to look exactly like the man in the centre of the room. The man had no clue what was going on.

_"What… What is this?"_

The group of Naruto's were surrounded in smoke, and when it cleared there was only one Naruto. He shook his head.

_"Why bother telling you? You would never understand."_

The man grabbed a mobile intercom and screamed into it.

_"GET YOUR ASSES HERE NOW!"_

On queue, about fifty men in similar dress to the man in front of Naruto came around the corner. They drew their swords.

_"I don't know what kind of technology he's using, but he's dangerous. Kill him!"_

Naruto smirked and held up a hand.

_"Do you have demons in the west?"_

The man in charge stared at him in confusion.

_"Demons are just stories to scare children!"_

Naruto smirked and looked at them in pure contempt.

_"Would you like to see a real demon?"_

The Militia had no idea what the kid was on about, and readied their swords. Naruto sighed and started growling. The ones in the front noticed that his claws were lengthening, as were his teeth. His hair was becoming unruly, and his slash marks on his cheeks were darkening and lengthening. Naruto raised his head and opened his eyes. What the Militia saw made their blood run cold. His eyes were blood red. However, his voice is what scared them the most.

**_"Are you that scared of me, little humans?"_**

Everyone froze, including the people of the army. Naruto smirked and crouched. He turned into a yellow blur that went right through the middle of the Militia and appeared at the back. Everyone whipped around.

**_"Is this the first time you've seen the powers of a demon? A pity, I won't even have to release the first gate. I have been looking for a release, and not even a hundred of you would give me reason to do it."_**

The leader had never been talked down to by a commoner, let alone a child. He charged at him.

_"I'll kill you and make a laughing stock of the east!"_

Naruto sighed and faced him. He held out his right hand at his side and began forming a Rasengan. The man slowed slightly.

**_"What's wrong, human? Weren't you going to make a laughing stock of the east? Come on. I'll even let you hit me once."_**

The man growled and stabbed Naruto through the chest. Blood poored out, while Naruto just stood there. Before everyone's eyes, the wound closed and Naruto stared at his now blood stained shirt.

**_"You ruined my good shirt. Buy me a new one."_**

The man just gawked at the boy. He'd stabbed the boy though the lung, and he asked for a new shirt? Who the hell was he? As if on queue, Naruto grinned at him, showing off his canines.

**_"I am Uzumaki Naruto, son of Uzumaki Arashi. I am also technically the king of demons, the nine tailed fox, Kuybi no Kitsune."_**

_"Technically?"_

Naruto smiled.

**_"My father sealed the Kyubi inside my stomach on the day of my birth, however on my 14th birthday, I absorbed him, making me both Uzumaki Naruto and the Kyubi no Kitsune at the same time."_**

The man was visibly shaking. Naruto smiled.

**_"Trust me, this is not worth taking seriously. You guys are a joke. Maybe if you came at me all at once, you may be able to land a hit on me in this form, but you would all die. What will you do?"_**

The man charged at Naruto as did his men. Naruto sighed and formed a Kage Bunsin, who began channelling charka into the real Naruto's hand. A Rasengan quickly formed, however, this one was different. It wasn't blue, it was red, and it was much larger than a normal Rasengan. Naruto smirked at them.

**_"ODAMA RASENGAN!"_**

Naruto and his clone shoved it into the leader's chest, which caused it to explode, destroying all of the security cameras. The real Haido, Renke and Temujin were gob smacked.

_"Wha.. What was that?"_

Jiraiya shook his head.

_"He still can't do it without a clone…"_

Yukiko answered for him.

_"That was Odama Rasengan, which translates into Great Ball Spiralling Sphere. It is the next stage of a technique that was developed by Uzumaki Arashi. Naruto is the only one who can do the Odama Rasengan, because it requires Kyubi's chakra to use. It is a highly volatile and deadly technique, and requires a clone to help keep it stable just long enough to shove it into its target and then control is released, causing it to explode."_

They looked surprised. Yukiko smiled.

_"Wait until you see when he gets serious."_

They looked at Yukiko like she was mad.

_"Serious? He was taking that a joke?"_

Hotaru nodded.

_"If they had all been Chunins or above, he would probably have asked them to step outside and summoned Kyubi."_

Haido had no idea what they meant by summon.

_"Summon?"_

Sora nodded.

_"In the east, there are contracts which you can sign with your blood that lets you summon the animal that scroll is related to, as well as other types of objects. Of the known animal kinds, there are slugs, frogs, snakes, foxes, cats, spiders, dogs, turtles, weasels and monkeys. It is possible to summon other things, such as a giant defensive barrier that is supposed to be invincible, which I highly doubt, as well as the ability to summon weapons and there are two forbidden summoning techniques. Both require sacrifices. One is called the Shikifuujin, the other is called __Edo__ Tensei. The shikifuujin was created to seal the demon lords into infants and the god of death who it summons, Shinigami, who requires two souls for compensation for summoning him. The soul of the sealed, and the soul of the sealer. Edo Tensei, requires a sacrifice for each person you want summoned. Each sacrifice's bodies are somehow turned into the figure the summoner wants summoned. For example, the summoner might want to revive the first, second and fourth Hokages. He would need three sacrifices, and when he summons them, he would put a knife with a special seal attached to it into the back of their heads, destroying their souls, making them mindless killing machines. They have all the powers, techniques and abilities they did during life."_

Haido, Renke and Temujin were all shocked. Temujin wasn't sure of something.

_"When you summon something, say a slug, what would come out?"_

Gaara answered.

_"It depends on how much charka you put into the summon. Summons take a lot of charka. If you use up a lot, you can summon the king or queen of that kind. For example, the king of the foxes is the Kyubi no Kitsune, which Naruto brought out in a fight against me. However, if he only put a small amount of charka into it, he could summon a small one tailed fox that would come up to your knee. Despite the type of animal the contract is, the bigger ones should be taken very seriously. Even a large slug can destroy a village if it wanted to."_

Haido nodded.

_"Could you possibly show us these summons?"_

They nodded. Sora, Jiraiya and Yukiko bit there thumbs and formed mirror hand seals.

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

Their hands slammed into the ground and smoke puffed out. When it cleared, they saw a small weasel, cat and frog. The frog looked up at Jiraiya.

"Yo! If you want me to come and play, give me a snack!"

Yukiko giggled.

_"He said if Jiraiya wants him to play to give him a snack."_

They all chuckled at the notion. Just then, the elevator doors opened and Naruto came out, dragging a very beaten man behind him. He dropped him unceremoniously on the ground.

_"I brought their leader back for questioning."_

They glanced at the man, and saw that he was bleeding badly. Haido went over to a button on the wall.

_"Have the medics come up to the command centre immediately. We have the leader of those who tried to take command of this installation, and he is dying. I want him alive for questioning."_

_"Yes Sir!"_

Naruto turned to see that there were several summons out.

_"So, you told them about summoning?"_

Yukiko nodded. Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment.

_"Yukiko, have you wondered what would happen if we tried to summon Kyubi ad Nibi now that they've merged with us?"_

Yukiko smiled at him.

_"One way to find out."_

They ran towards the balcony and jumped out. Haido, Renke and Temujin shouted after them. Jiraiya shook his head.

_"This is what the power of summoning can do."_

They nodded and watched as they plummeted towards the ground. They heard a muffled:

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

A massive amount of smoke appeared where they had been seen. The smoke reached up to the command deck. When the smoke disappeared, they saw a large nine tailed fox and a large two tailed cat, however, they were not Kyubi and Nibi. Or at least, not the one's they were used to. The fox had a black coat of fur. The cat, had the same black hair that all the cats seemed to have. The fox looked at the figure on his head.

**"So, you're the human that Kyubi merged with? You don't seem like much, kit."**

Naruto shouted at the fox.

"What do you mean 'not much'?"

**"I mean that you seem like a regular human. Anyway, I'm the former Kyubi's second in command. Since he merged with you, I was forced to take command of the foxes to prevent us from lapsing into civil war, and when I did, I gained the ninth tail reserved only for the king of demons. However, out of loyalty to my former boss, I will not claim the title of king of demons, but I will take his place as the new Kyubi no Kitsune."**

Naruto nodded. Yukiko went through pretty much the same thing with the new Nibi no Nekomata. After the introduction are over, the new Kyubi looked at Naruto.

**"So, what do you want?"**

Naruto smiled.

"Provide escort for the command centre."

**"Great, I'm being forced to protect a huge bucket of bolts…"**

The Kyubi looked around.

**"By the way, where are we?"**

Naruto smirked.

"We're in the west."

The Kyubi's eyes narrowed.

**"The west? As in across the sea?"**

Naruto nodded and the Kyubi gave a foxy grin.

**"No one has summoned an animal in the west before."**

"Exactly why it'll make an impact on the capital city."

The fox's grin widened. He looked in the direction the 'bucket of bolts' was heading and saw the faint outline of shapes rising into the sky. He took up position on the left side of the command center while Nibi took up position on the right. They escorted the command center back to the city.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& **

**In One of the ****Guard** **Towers**** Around the City:**

The guard on duty was told to expect Temujin's mobile command centre to arrive today, and so he kept a look out. He saw the command centre approach from a distance. He also saw two large puffs of smoke come out of the back of it, and got worried. He looked to his guard buddy to see he had seen it too. After the smoke cleared, he saw the smoke clear and two shapes began to emerge. He hadn't the foggiest clue what was going on, so he pulled out his guard's hi powered binoculars and looked at them. When he saw them he pulled his head back and shook it, believing that he must have been seeing things. He looked again, and confirmed that he had indeed seen two giant animals. One was a cat and another was a fox, however, the cat had two tails and the fox had nine. He dropped the binoculars and they swung in an arc before hitting his chest because they were attached to a cord that was slung around his neck. He noticed then that the animals seemed to take up flanking positions and walked beside the command centre. By the time they had gotten close to the city, the city' inhabitants were crowded around the gate, looking at the spectacle. When the command centre finally pulled to a stop, the Kyubi and Nibi bent down and put their heads to the ground, leering at the people. Naruto shouted at the fox.

"Oi, Kyubi. Don't give them that look, you're scaring them."

**"So what? They're just normal humans. And they don't even have chakra! Well, my job is done. I'll catch you around, Naruto."**

Naruto smiled and hopped down and onto the ground before turning to him and waving.

"See you later! Oh, and could you say hi to those little white one tailed kitsunes for me? They were cute."

The fox snickered.

**"Kyubi's youngest kits? Sure, whatever. Ja."**

With that, the Kyubi and Nibi puffed out of existence. The inhabitants of the city started muttering to themselves.

_"How can something that big just vanish? They had to go somewhere!"_

Naruto turned around and answered them.

_"They did. They went back to the underworld."_

At that point, the command centre's hatch opened and the soldiers filed out, clearing the way for their commanders. When they walked out, everyone bowed to them. Haido saw Naruto and smiled, beckoning him over. Naruto smiled and walked over to him.

_"Naruto, I have to thank you for saving those hostages. Not one of the 150 hostages died."_

Naruto smiled.

_"No worries, Haido. Those Militia guys never encountered the way we fight in the east, so they weren't prepared."_

Hiado smiled and walked flanked by Temujin and Renke, with Naruto's group just behind them. Naruto turned to see the command centre's hatch close again.

_"Haido, where is the command centre going?"_

Haido smiled.

_"It will be stationed in its' repair bay until Temujin goes off to the front again."_

Naruto nodded and looked around. The city was exquisite. There were building like the command centre in shape that shot into the sky. The tallest building was in the centre of the city. Everyone then noticed the stares they were getting. They weren't the stares of hatred and distrust they got back home, they were stares of… Awe? They proceeded up to the steps of the building in the centre of the city where Hadio smiled.

_"This is the imperial palace. It is not just a home to the highest members of parliament, but also used for almost all legal proceedings of the city, and a lot of the empire as well. That is why it is so large."_

Naruto's group nodded. Once they got up the stairs, they heard a squealing and a little girl with long blonde hair and flailing robes ran at Haido and clutched onto his robes.

_"DADDY!"_

Haido smiled and hugged her.

_"Yola! Have you been a good girl while I was away?"_

Yola nodded. She looked at the unfamiliar faces and smiled. True to her name, she had violet eyes. Her robes were mostly a violet purple, with streaks of yellow and red along the highlights. She would have been no older than five.

_"Daddy, are these the people from the other side of the sea?"_

Haido nodded.

_"Yes Yola, they are."_

Yola looked at them with curiosity.

_"Are they strong?"_

Haido smiled.

_"Very."_

Just like most children her age, she wanted to know more.

_"How strong?"_

Naruto smiled at her.

_"Did you see that giant fox and cat at the front of the city, Yola?"_

Yola nodded.

_"I brought it to this world."_

Yola gave a look of incomprehension. Naruto smiled.

_"I did this."_

Naruto bit his thumb and made four hand seals before placing his hand on the ground. He whispered the name of his technique.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu…"

As his palm came in contact with the ground, a puff of smoke appeared, casuing Yola to squeal. When the smoke cleared, a small one tailed white kitsune was sitting on it's haunches looking at Yola. Yola's eyes widened.

_"Where did he come from?"_

Naruto smiled.

_"Do you want the truth or a lie?"_

Yola thought for a moment.

_"Truth."_

_"Hell."_

Yola's eyes widened as she quaked at the kitsune. Naruto chuckled.

_"Don't worry, he won't hurt you unless I tell him to, and I won't do that unless you try to kill me. Go on, touch him. He won't bite."_

Yola gingerly reached out and tapped the kitsune on the head. The kitsune gave her a blank look. Yola tried again and rested her hand lightly on top of his head. The kitsune's eyes closed and it let out a low purr of pleasure. When the kitsune made this noise, Yola lept back and Naruto shook his head.

_"When he makes that noise, it means he likes it."_

Yola nodded and tried again, scratching the kitsune's ear. The kitsune purred again and Yola giggled.

_"He's cute. Daddy, can I keep him?"_

Everyone laughed. Naruto smiled sadly at her.

_"Unfortunately, he lives in the underworld. He can stay out here until I tell him to go or he decides to leave. He will have to return eventually, but for now, take him with you."_

Yola giggled and picked up the fox who purred as she hugged him to her chest. Hatio smiled and began to walk forward. Everyone followed him while the others were just left staring at what had just happened.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& **

**A/N:** OMG OMG OMG OMG! Longest chapter yet! 41 WHOLE PAGES! I was typing the last few sentences when I checked the length of it and I just stared. I knew I had typed a lot, but not THAT much! Anyways, I hope this keeps you guys entertained for a while. If you have any questions about what you've seen of the west so far, then please ask. As for guns… Well, there will be no guns except for maybe a giant energy cannon, if there are any at all. If you want to know what age I'm modelling the west on, I'm basically making it like the industrial revolution of the real world. They have not invented cars, buses or any of that kind of stuff. Since the east is modelled on the feudal age, yet they have computers and tv's, then the west is like the industrial age with mobile command centres. For a history on the Militia, basically, they are a faction that split off from the others due to a major political disagreement. Since then, they have been trying to take over power from the imperials. The main form of weapon that the Militia use are vibro swords. Vibro swords according to real world theory rely on vibrating their blades at supersonic speeds to give them the cutting efficiency of a lightsaber from star wars. However, the Militia have not achieved the perfect vibro blade yet, but they have managed to make semi-decent ones. If you haven't seen the second movie, and you don't want me to spoil how the westerners fight, I'm sorry but there is absolutely no way I can get around that. For those of you that have seen the movie, you know what to expect, however, in my fic, their power source (those that have seen the movie will understand) is much more abundant in the west, meaning that there would be more fighters. Well, if there are any other questions you have, please feel free to ask them. Until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	29. NarutoSensei

**A/N:** Yo! Sorry I'm late, I had to go and pick up my dry cleaning before the shop closed...

Readers: LIAR!

Meh...

Votes:

**PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING:**

I cannot accept any new ideas, and the armour pieces for Naruto, Sora and Hotaru have been chosen. The only person left to vote for is Yukiko. I'm NOT going to let you vote for anything other than Plasma Defensive Sleaves or the Genjutsu Eyepiece. I've reset Yukiko's votes to zero and you guys can have one more vote each, again, first to five.

Ok, First poll is the options for D. As I said, I'll post the first three options made and those will be your options for D. Here's what's been suggested.

**(D):**

**(I):** sleeves like sasukes, but black and made out of chain mail delicately attached together by chakra. Can absorb chakra and create a sort of force field with it. - White Alchemist Taya.

Taya, I have to tell you right now that this is the most plausible option. In the second Naruto movie, one of Temujin's friends had some sort of ability called the plasma ball which either activated when anything approached at close range, forming an electromagnetic shield around her, or it was active at all times, and only became visible when something hit it.

**(II):** A headpiece that guards against and amplifies Genjutsus. - Ki master.

I think that this could be a decent idea. Although you suggested a helmet or headpiece, I'm going to go with a headpiece like Deidra's from the manga when he helps Sasori capture Gaara, as a helmet would be too bulky. It's basically a mix between a monocle and half a pair of binoculars. Also, I decided that I'd have to modify it a little bit to do both your possibilities, both lessening opponents genjutsu and amplifying their own.

**(III):** A piece for Gaara only. A special metal sand that is lighter, thus faster, and finer so he can mold sharpened blades with it (yeah I'm inspired by sunagakure's sandaime kazekage) – Dragon Noir

You know, I think this is the only piece that Gaara could even use. A decent idea to.

Now, for the real poll, what each person gets. BTW, If you think that one of the custom pieces is actually suited better for a character and you picked one of the options I gave you before I introduced the three of your options, then I will allow you to repick, however, in your review, please state in the very first line that you are repicking. I will allow ONLY the people who picked before I put up your options to repick, everyone else only has one choice for each character. First option to five for each character wins:

**Naruto: RESULTS: Gauntlet.**

**Yukiko:**

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 0

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

**Gaara: RESULTS: Iron Sand.**

**Sora: RESULTS: Shoes.**

**Hotaru: RESULTS: Greaves.**

Remember, if you picked before the custom options were added, you may pick again if you wish, but ONLY if you picked before the custom options. If you do, I will take all of your previous choices, take them off your first choices and add them to your new choice.

Rokudaime quote for the chapter: **KAKASHI:** "I'm swearing off Come Come Paradise. From now on, I will only read lemon Naruto fanfics"

Um, I've heard rumours that people are ripping off my story. I'm too busy to go searching for them, so could you be my eyes and ears for me? Thanks guys. Now for the Reviews and Comments:

**foxsoldier:** I'm sorry to hear that. I hate losing fans, but if you don't like my story, I can't make you read it. Thanks for the comments on the story up to now.

**White Alchemist Taya:** Seriously? Wow thanks. Um... I don't know what to say. /wub perhaps? Iono...

**NekoGuyFan:** Hehehehe. Well, the reason why they were so easily defeated was that Westerners had never encountered the east's style of fighting, meaning they were litterally like O.O with a side of WTF thrown in. However, now that they have an idea of how they fight, things are going to get far more messy for Naruto and the gang. As for the real world westerners having chakra, I'd have to say it's more likely than not that we do have some form of chakra system, although it could be nothing like it is in Naruto. For example, remember how the Hyugas fight by sealing the Tenketsu, which are located around the body? Well, after studying the human body for several years on and off during biology, I decided to do a little investigation myself for a major project. Long story short, the major Tenketsu in Naruto are almost exactly the same as some of the main pressure points in real human bodies. I also remembered that Chinese Acupuncture rely on sticking needles into the major pressure points to reduce stress. Man, I should get that done... Anyways, it was a few years ago since I did the research but remember how in Hinata's and Neji's match, Neji sealed the Tenketsu in her arm? ¾ of them are real pressure points that if you get really lucky and hit will cause different reactions. For example, if you hit one of the Tenketsu near the wrist, you can force your opponents legs to give way. Chances of it happening when using a Juken style strike? Nill. The pressure point is so tiny that no amount of jabbing will let you hit it right. I don't know how they do it, but martial aritists can twist someone's arm to trigger the pressure point as if you hit it, not sure how though. Seems the creaters of Naruto did their research well.

**Skuld's Sentaro 6:** /bow. Thanks :P

**mrasdfghj:** Were you by chance on drugs when you created your pen name? It's... Unique... I'll give you that... Anywho, Naruto too powerful? As said in one of the comments above, the Westerners had never seen eastern fighting, however, now they know what to expect. Naruto's going to have it tough from here. As for the failure thing? No. The second he fails, he stops being Naruto. He will be majorly OOC. If you really think he needs to fail, then I suggest you go watch the entire anime series and read all the manga issues and tell me when he's failed. His fight with Orochimaru in the forest of death and the academy failures don't count. Why? Because Naruto is correcting his mistakes. He beat everyone who ever did the bunshin test in Konoha by a long shot, and he owns Orochimaru with only four tails out. As for the Naruto Sasuke fight at the valley of the end? Nope, he won that too. How? They made a bet that Naruto couldn't scratch Sasuke's forehead. What did he do? Scratch his forehead protector. He won that fight, if only morally.

**Dragon Noir:** Hidden meaning? Nah. Think about it. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu both refer to Gamabunta as 'pops', so I'm assuming that all of the other lesser summons refer to ther summon boss as 'pops' or 'dad' or something. As for not liking the shoes... Well, it's your opinion and you're entitled to it. However, most people don't seem to mind them. So I go with the majority. I personally think the majority thing sucks, because I was always the one guy who voted the exact opposite that everyone else did. Not out of spite, but because I believed it was the better option. As for the new Kyubi's name, before you expect an answer, think over it for a moment. Did the real Kyubi ever have another name apart from, Kyubi no Kitsune, Kyubi, Demon Lord, Damn Fox, or anything like that? That should answer your question :P

**saiyan prince 1:** TY. Something else hidden? I wonder... :P

**Katana Haibane:** Better... I guess so. Longer? Nope. Despite me saying that last chapter was 41 pages, it was still about 1k words less than my longest chapter. Thanks for the compliments. Read the final note for what will be explained in this chapter. It will contain a lot of medical terms and some scientific ones. Lack of power? Um, I must have failed to describe something properly yet again. The Odama Rasengan took out the entire corridor, which was 100 or so meters long. The only reason why the hostages were ok was that they were all in the room with the door sealed. I didn't tell you, but the reason that the command centre went in for repairs was because of what Naruto did.

**Final note:** This chapter will contain light to moderatly complicated medical terminology. I did not look any of this up, as my mum's a nurse, so I hear this stuff all the time. Also, it's suprising how much medical knowledge is in video games too. Also in this chapter, I will reveal the Westerners source of power, so if you haven't seen the second Naruto movie, I'd suggest skipping over the next few chapters until they leave the west, as most of it will refer to the power source. I'm sorry to those of you who fall into this category, but I've tried my hardest to keep it out of my fic until I couldn't do it any longer. It seems two chapters is my limit. Sorry people. If you're wondering why I'm going to be likening it to Phazon from Metroid Prime, it's because they're too simmilar for my liking. WAY too simmilar. Infact, I'd almost be willing to say that Naruto ripped it off Nintendo. Therefore, I will be showing you the simmilarites between the two by substituting Gelel for Phazon, based off the pirate logs in both Metroid Primes. I have a damn big fascination in both Gelel and Phazon, so it's a very interesting subject for me.

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Japanese..."

"_...English..."_

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 24:

Settling in to Their New Home:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Several Weeks After Arriving in Antioch:**

Naruto and the others had settled in rather quickly. Yukiko and Hotaru had quickly became very well know after they had both used their medical jutsus to heal a person each from near death. Now Yukiko and Hotaru were pretty famous in the city hospital too. Naruto had made a bunch of friends with the younger boys, who he loved to help devise brand new pranks with. Gaara actually developed a fan club of girls who all wanted to date him. No one knew why, but the girls thought he was irrisistable. Gaara quickly developed a whole new level of respect for one Uchiha Sasuke. It wasn't hard to avoid them, but he admitted they were very persistant. Naruto and Jiraiya had actually decided to keep a score board for how many girls they had seen chasing after Gaara. The small clip board very quickly became too small. They decided once the number of indivdual fan girls reached 100, there was no point in continueing. The last strike to the tally was added after three weeks of arriving in Antioch. Everyone except Gaara was in the library. Naruto and Jiraiya both announced their verdict.

"Lucky guy."

However Hotaru happened to overhear this while she was reading through a book on western civil war, before she looked up and stated her opinion.

"Is he really? If I was him, I'd consider it a curse."

Naruto saw what she was getting at. He sat back in his comfy armchair and stretched.

"Well, I guess you could consider it like that. I guess he's going through what Sasuke did when we were younger."

Yukiko who was reading a thick leather bound tome on western medical discovereies looked up and smirked.

"Yeah. Although he's got an advantage over them."

At that point, the library door burst open and then shut again. They could hear deep breaths and sensed fear. They felt for the chakra signature and identified it as Gaara.

"Speak of the devil, look who the cat just dragged in."

Gaara ran up to Naruto.

"Naruto, this is probably the only request I will ever make. Can you make a Kage Bunshin and use Henge to take my place? These girls may not be ninjas, but they almost put Chunins to shame considering they're girls that are supposed to be trained in areas other than physical fitness."

Yukiko sighed and smiled.

"Never get between a woman and her chosen man. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Gaara nodded.

"I believe that. Will you do it, Naruto?"

Naruto smiled.

"Fine, but you owe me."

Gaara nodded. Naruto formed the cross with his fingers and lazily mutterd 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu...' After the smoke had cleared, the Naruto clone muttered 'Henge'. Just then Jiraiya noticed one fatal flaw in the plan.

"Gaara, have you used any sand techniques to get away from them before?"

Gaara thought about it, then shook his head.

"There was no need."

Jiraiya nodded.

"Ok. If you had, there's no way Naruto's clone could immitate that."

"That's what I remembered once the fan club started. I didn't use the sand incase something like this happened."

Just then, a knock on the door was heard. Before muffled english could be heard from outside.

"_Gaara? You have a visitor. She claims to be your girlfriend."_

Everyone rolled their eyes. Gaara melted into the carpet while the Gaara lookalike opened the door.

"_Girlfriend? I don't remember having a-"_

Before he could finished, a girl in white robes flung herself at Gaara. The Gaara clone was knocked onto the floor and knocked his head, causing the clone to dispell, leaving the girl to tumble to the floor. She looked around madly.

"_Gaara? Where'd you go?"_

Everyone in the room was snickering, and the girl pouted at them.

"_What did you do to Gaara?"_

Naruto couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed out loud. He smiled at her.

"_A favour."_

The girl pouted and looked at him.

"_Favour?"_

"_I bought him enough time to get out of here. He may be in the streets again with your friends hugging him."_

This got the desired effect. The girl goggled at them and ran out of the door screaming.

"_Wait for me Gaara! I want to be the first one to hug you!"_

She was silenced by the librarian as she ran out of the libray and into the streets. Gaara raised himself from his melded state with the floor, nodding to Naruto.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

At that moment, Renke came into their little room and smiled.

"_Afternoon everyone."_

They all said their hellos and then Renke smiled.

"_I'm sure you've noticed by now that a number of our warriors have stylized pieces of armour. Haido has authorised that we try and make some special prototype armour pieces based on your fighting style and we're going to try and incorperate chakra into it. Would you guys like to come and see what we have to offer?"_

They stared in shock at Renke. Naruto was typically the first out of his stupor.

"_Armour? Sure! I'll come!"_

Yukiko nodded.

"_I'd like to try some too."_

The all nodded and turned to Jiraiya for his response.

"_Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass. I don't like fighting with armour."_

Renke nodded.

"_Well, let's go to the testing labs."_

They nodded and followed Renke into what they had come to know as the millitary sector of Antioch. Renke led them along the narrow streets and eventually ended up in the highest security area. She approached a building that was very unusual for the glimmering style and glamour of Antioch. At the front, she stopped. There seemed to be a little machine on the wall. Renke took off her glove and placed a finger on a little piece of glass. The glass flashed red three times before it flashed green. Renke then bent down and put her eyes level with two oddly eye shapped holes. They managed to see a bright white light seeping out through spaces in the soft black plastic that she rested her head on. Finally they heard a beep and the front door clicked. Renke put her glove back on and pulled the thick metal bulkhead door open. She motioned them to go inside, and once they had gone inside, she closed the door with a resounding _CLANK_. She led them through the dimly lit hallway with the soft clanging of her metal boots coming into contact with the metal floor. She reached the end of the hall and called the elevator car. The door opened and they got in, before she pushed the 3rd last button from the bottom. The doors closed and the life began moving. Once they reached the floor, the doors opened and they saw... Well.. They saw lots of things they didn't think they would ever see. There was scaffholing everywhere, holding up strange objects while people soldered other pieces onto the things. There were people sitting at desks with lots of tools and all of them working on something different. Despite the amount of work going on, there was suprisingly little noise. Sure, they head the sounds normally associated with a workshop, however they did not hear much talking. Renke walked right past everything to the back of the huge room, and opened a door to what was apparently a very spartan office. There was an old white haired old man behind the desk who looked up at the intrusion and smiled.

"_Renke, it's good to see you again."_

"_It's good to see you too, professor."_

They engauged in a bit more rimenescing of old times before he turned to the others.

"_So these are the easterners I've heard so much about. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm known around here as the professor."_

Hotaru arched an eyebrow.

"_Professor?"_

The man nodded.

"_Due to the level of technology in this building, everyone from the 4th floor down is given code names to address each other by, to protect our secrecy. Also, everyone from the fourth bottom level downwards practically never leave this building."_

Naruto stared at him.

"_Never leave this building? How long has it been since you left?"_

The man stroked his chin for a while. Obviously it had been a VERY long time since he left.

"_Can't remember to tell you the truth."_

Naruto sighed.

"_What could keep you down here for so long? Don't you have a wife and kids? Friends? Relatives?"_

The man smiled sadly.

"_Nope. Not a single relation. Unfortunately, my family were murdered by the Militia while I was away on a confrence. I decided to dedicate my life purely to research before I was old enough to marry."_

Naruto shook his head.

"_I'm... I'm sorry... Considering how we've lived, I should know better..."_

The man shook his head.

"_No problem. Now, I understand you're here for custom made armour parts. I would have deligated this to 15 levels above me, until I heard what your source of power was. I'm sure you know about the Gelel stones?"_

The nodded, but Sora stated how much they knew.

"_We know of them, but apart from that, we know practically nothing."_

The professor smiled.

"_Not suprising. Only those on the 6 bottom levels of this facility know the true power of Gelel stones, and how to use them."_

Gaara suddenly got very concerned.

"_If these Gelel stones are your source of all power for your army, then do the Militia have the stones too?"_

The professor smiled widly at them.

"_Thank god no. When they split off from us, we had only just discovered the existance of a minor Gelel vein about 3 days walk northeast of here. We had absolutely no idea what the stuff was, only that it was both powerful and fatal to organisms who came into contact with it. The real reason the Militia split off from us is that they believed that the Gelel vein was like the forbidden fruit from the bible. I assume you know about the fruit I'm talking about?"_

The all nodded.

"_Basically, the people who left us were the most fanatical Christians of the city. However, when we brought a sample of the Gelel vein in for analysis, they formed a riot and tried to destroy the sample. We just managed to beat them off, and the survivors took their belongings and left the city. We have no idea where their main base is, but it's well hidden. Anyway, back to the Gelel. Once we did an extensive analysis, we found out that Gelel was a radioactive biological mutagen." _(OH I LOVE OBSCURE GAME REFERENCES)

Yukiko narrowed her eyes.

"_So Gelel is actually a living thing?"_

The professor nodded.

"_From what we can tell, it has the same intelligence as a tree, however, it's mutanagenic properties are startling."_

Yukiko, the medical expert of the group was getting concerned.

"_What could it do?"_

"_Originally, we tested a minute smaple on lab rats. Even a moderatly sized piece three times a day in their food produced results, namely, a rapidly increased metabolism, and a drastically reduced life span."_

Yukiko and Hotaru understood the implications of this. Hotaru spoke.

"_In other words, the rate at which their cells reached apoptosis was sped up, meaning that their cells rapidly multiplied beyond what the body can stand."_

Yukiko nodded and finished the rest of it.

"_Which would imply either a complete break out in tumours and cancers or total physical mutation."_

The professor looked surprised that these two had been able to grasp the full implications of what he said.

"_You two wouldn't happen to be medical professionals, would you?"_

They both nodded and the professor sighed.

"_Well, we slowly realised that if the rats were fed it from the moment they were born, their resiliance to it was increased. As the rats multiplied, we found them becoming more and more resistant to the Gelel. We increased it, but the results this time were drastically different. Just a few days after we fed the concerntraited batch to the latest generation, they went mad, attacking anything and everything that came near them, however, within a week, even the strongest one died. When we performed autopsies on them, we found that each and every single one of their brains had shrunk in size by a considerable amount. We also found that the body's defenses had began mass producing white blood cells to attack the brain, which would indicate that the brain became a foreign part of the body. When we inspected the chemical composition of the brains, we were startled to find that their DNA had been so badly mutated, that they suffered from a disease which we termed "Gelel madness", making them rabid while they were alive. We then understood that Gelel was a poison to the body, and we immediately scrapped all research to infuse rats with Gelel. We never even got to stage two of the research, which was to infuze it into monkeys."_

They nodded. The professor went back into his tale.

"_So then we wondered what we could do with this stuff. It had practically unlimited potential, yet we didn't know how to tap it. Some of the scientists began thinking that the people who became known as the Militia were right, that this was the forbidden fruit. However, a young scientist who was a close personal friend came up with a revolutionary idea. Gelel in it's pure form is like an aquious solution, but he suggested we try either freezing it or burning it, to see what reaction it had on it. Burning it did nothing except destroy it, so we treid feezing it, and to our suprise, it automatically froze within minutes. When we pulled it out of the freezer, we noticed that it began melting, but very slowly. It took almost three days for it to completely melt. So we them decided to freeze it and then burn it. We were like little kids with a new toy. Eventually we found out that certain exteme temperatures had a profound effect on the Gelel. We found out that absolute zero and 1025.6 degrees Celcius had the most profound effect. Eventually, we managed to create a process of freezing and burning which created a permanently soilidified Gelel Stone. It still had all the potency of it's liquid state, but it seemed that it's outter shell had lost it's potency and contained the still semi-liquid Gelel with it's full potency in the center. At the time, we had no idea of the implicatons of the object, however, one scientist accidentally dropped one and it hit the ground. It made a massive explosion that took out three floors, despite the protection in between each floor. When we finally went inside, we found that the area was heavily irradiated. We had just created the world's most powerful weapon. We code named it the Harbinger. However, we managed to recover the scientist's log book which he had left at the front desk by accident, and found out that the one he had dropped was not from the same Gelel vein as the one we had been using, because we had just found another vein a few weeks prior. The Gelel stones from that vein were immediately seized and locked in a very secure place on the bottom level of this facility, and they declared that vein a level alpha secret, meaning that no one except the people of the bottom floor had access to it. Unknown to everyone from the second last floor up, the government was secretly working on some sort of mechanism that could fire these stones very long distances on the bottom floor. However, they realised that the stones would not survive such gravitational strain and would explode upon activating the launcher. Eventually, they settled for sealing them inside a crate of sorts with a display screen and buttons on the top. When the correct code was entered, the display would begin counting down. Once it reached zero, the Harbingers inside them would detonate, casuing an explosion big enough to level half of Antioch."_

So the rumor about the box that could level an entire village was actually true. Naruto was still inquisitive as to how this became their main power source.

"_So how exactly did you come to use Gelel in everyday life?"_

The man smiled.

"_Although Gelel is common, we don't dare use it as a fuel source. We have no idea of what could happen if a freak accident was to occur. So with the new Gelel vein sealed, we kept working with what we had. We just couldn't find a use for the stones no matter what we did. However, a team of archiologists uncovered a third Gelel vein. Thinking this could be our big chance, we immediately began research on it. We found to our suprise that the thrid Gelel vein was the exact opposite of the second. It was extremely stable, and it did not produce the mutations in the lab rats to anywhere near the extent that the first or second one did. However, it still mutated them, and so we went to solidifying it. Once again, we were surprised that this vein's Gelel actually seemed to completely solidify, and we tried many things with it. On the bottom level, they were trying things madly as well. However, they skipped the first two testing stages and went straight onto humans. However, their method of getting the body to take it in was rather... Primitive. They transplanted a whole Gelel Stone into a human. What surprised us to no end was that the human suffered no negative side effects. On the contrary, he seemed to gain powers the likes of which no one had ever seen before. When they gave him a sword to practice with, he made the sword unleash a small amount of energy. The bottom floor quickly tried to develop weapons that the man could use. They came up with a prototype for the sword that you saw Commander Temujin wearing. The experiment was a complete success. The man could unleash waves of energy with the swing of the sword. By now, the government had began inserting Gelel Stones into a select group of warriors. All of them got some form of power, whether it was a shield or increased senses. The other most obvious physical change was that their pupils became red."_

Something clicked for the teenagers. They reviewed just how many red eyed people they had seen since they came here. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"_That would mean that every single officer has a Gelel stone implanted..."_

The professor smiled.

"_Exactly. However, one day, the first test subject reported feeling naucious. They took this very seriously and strapped him down to a table and began testing him like mad. He found this very invasive and tried to break free, but the metal clamps kept him down. Evenutally he snapped and started howling. What the scinetists saw made more than one of them wet their pants. The man began physically mutating into a humanoid lion. He snapped the restriants and began killing the scientists in a frenzy. He was eventually subdued and restrained. When he fell unconcious, his body transformed back into his human body. Eventually, one at a time, each in different circumstances, the other subjects began transforming to and from their animal like forms."_

They stared at him. They were actual transformations, not a simple genjutsu to change their appearance? Naruto turned to Renke.

"_Then that means..."_

Renke smiled.

"_Yup. I can do it too. I transform into a bat."_

Naruto looked at her with renewed interest.

"_Can you show us?"_

Renke sighed and smiled.

"_Just like little children. Ok just once."_

Renke shuddered as the sleaves on her skin tight undershirt ripped and leathery wings began to grow out at a rapid rate. Renke's face began to darken in colour, before fur grew out of her face. Her cainines lengthened and her fingernails turned into claws that made the group envious. When she opened her eyes, they were completely red. Not just the irises, but the entire eye. She smiled at them and hopped into the air and fluttered a bit to prove she could fly. They just gawked at her. She smiled a very toothy smile before she changed back to normal.

"_It doesn't hurt, it just feels very very strange. You never get used to the feeling. Great, now I have to get a new shirt..."_

The professor smiled and turned back to the teens.

"_Well, you've heard all about Gelel now. Remember, what is said in this room does not leave it, ok?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_As ninja in the east, we're expected to be able to keep secrets."_

The professor nodded.

"_Now, I would love to hear about this... Chakra that you use in the east."_

They looked at each other and they began recounting all they knew about chakra, which between them was extensive. The professor nodded. At the end of the history, he nodded.

"_Facinating. Absolutely facinating. Would you be able to show me some of this chakra?"_

Naruto nodded and formed a seal of the ram, and a blue aura of chakra began to surround him. The professor looked like he's just found something that could make him the world's most famous man. He nodded and asked for another demonstraition.

"_Could you show me this demonic transformation? Preferably release the first gate if possible please."_

Naruto sighed and warned them.

"_Unleashing the first gate is extremely painful. I think you should warn your people out there to ignore the scream."_

The man looked at Naruto like he had just asked him to jump off a cliff. Yukiko sighed.

"_The first gate produces an armour of demonic chakra that at first glance actually looks like it's protecting him, but the exact opposite is true. The armour is burning him constantly. With each gate he opens, the demonic regerneration struggles more and more to keep up. By the time he opens the fourth gate, the damage done to him surpases what the regeneration can handle, and rips blood from his body through his pores. Any more than that is almost garanteed suicide."_

The man nodded slowly and stepped out from brhind his desk.

"_Well then, why don't we go into blast chamber number 3?"_

Renke saw the blank look on their faces and filled them in.

"_Blast chambers are made to withstand a harbinger explosion. We'll be fine in there."_

Naruto nodded and followed the professor out. As he walked past the desks, one person stopped him.

"_Professor, I've got the results you asked for."_

The professor smiled.

"_Let me see them."_

The man at the desk passed a clipboard with a bunch of paper attached to it. The professor flipped through several of the pages which seemed to contain graphs and tables. He nodded slowly.

"_Check the effect of Gelel stones on the alloy again. I don't like the results, they're too unpredictable."_

The man nodded.

"_That's what I thought. I've been testing them for three weeks, but I was required to hand the report to you today."_

The professor nodded.

"_Will another three weeks be sufficient?"_

The man looked thoughtful for a moment.

"_I really can't say. I'll definitely have more defined results, but I highly doubt that the exact cause of the metal's habit of bonding with the Gelel stones will be completely understood, even with half a year's worth of examination."_

The professor thought about this carefully.

"_I'll have two others help you tomorrow for the three weeks. If anything like the third test result happens again, tell me immedaitely."_

The man nodded.

"_Sure thing."_

The man turned back to his work while the professor smiled and continued walking. Eventually, he reached a very thick red metal door. He punched in a code into the key pad before it beeped and the door began swinging open. When the door was side on, they noticed that the door was at least 30 foot of solid metal. The inside of the room was huge. It was made of blank grey metal bulkheads. The professor led them into the room and shut the door. Once they were inside, he nodded to a table in the center of the room.

"_Please lay on there. We have very powerful sensors linked to that table which should be able to help us understand what this chakra is."_

Naruto nodded and laid on the table and began releasing a steady amount of Normal chakra. The professor flicked a switch at the computer terminal next to the table. He felt really weird. It was like no feeling he had ever felt before.

"_I've basically attempted to magnatise your body. Nothing unusual."_

The professor flicked swithces, failing to come up with anything until he flicked a certain switch.

"_I'm going to try and touch you with a piece of innert Gelel."_

Naruto nodded, but as he felt the Gelel nearing him, he felt a very evil vibe coming off it. When the Gelel touched his chakra, the chakra surged into it and caused it to shatter. Naruto looked at it in shock, as did everyone else. The professor narrowed his eyes.

"_Did you do that conciously?"_

Naruto shook his head.

"_The closer it got to me, the more I felt like it was almost giving off killer intent. Once it touched my chakra, my chakra moved on it's own accord."_

The professor nodded slowly, trying to make sense of it.

"_That was interesting to say the least. It seems as though Chakra and Gelel are the equivalent of matter and anti-matter."_

The professor went deep into thought, before he looked up.

"_There's something I need to try. Can you please release your demon chakra, and I will attempt to try and put a Gelel piece near you."_

Naruto nodded and slowly released his blood red chakra. Another piece of Gelel in a mechanical arm slowly lowered itself to him. However, Naruto felt no killer intent or anything weird. The piece of Gelel touched his chakra and kept going. It touched Naruto's skin, leaving a slightly cool feeling on his skin where it touched. The professor was baffled.

"_I have no idea what this means. For once, I'm at a complete loss..."_

Yukiko however, had a faint idea of what this could mean.

"_It may seem that the Militia were right after all..."_

The professor looked at her.

"_What do you mean?"_

Hotaru had a very concerned look on her face.

"_Normal chakra reacts violently to Gelel, while demonic chakra doesn't. I find that too coincidental."_

The professor nodded slowly.

"_I will have to investigate this further. Is there any way I can possibly obtain some of both of your types of chakra and store them?"_

Naruto shook his head.

"_Chakra has no physical substance, so no physical object can contain it."_

The professor sighed.

"_Pity."_

He sighed and shook his head.

"_For the armour parts I had origially intended to make, I wanted to infuse Gelel into them, however, doing such a thing would be very dangerous."_

Like the old Naruto used to do, he bounced back and smiled happily.

"_But the upside is I get to study a whole new energy souce!"_

Gaara shook his head.

"_We are not your guinnea pigs."_

The professor shook his head rapidly.

"_I never meant anything of the sort. I meant that if I got to do a few similar tests to what I did just now with Naruto over several days, I believe I may be able to get enough knowledge on chakra to get a fundamental grip on it's workings."_

Renke sighed.

"_Professor, that is using them as guinea pigs."_

The professor slumped his shoudlers in defeat.

"_Well, it was worth a try..."_

Naruto chuckled.

"_I'll tell you what. I'll come down here once a month for half a day and you can do as many non invasive tests as you want."_

The professors eyes lit up.

"_REALLY?"_

Naruto nodded. Everyone shook their heads in disbeilef. The professor was more of a child than a scientist when it came to new things. The professor grinned widely.

"_Even if you came half as often as that, I'm sure I could make some amazing discoveries!"_

Naruto grinned with a hint of mischif in his eyes.

"_Would you like me to come half as often?"_

The professor shook his head rapidly.

"_No, no! It's ok!"_

Everyone chuckled. The professor turned to everyone.

"_I was requested to make a piece of custom armour for each of you, however, I seem to be getting the impression that every person's chakra is slightly different, correct?"_

Yukiko nodded.

"_Chakra is very simmilar to blood. When a couple have a child, like blood, the child's chakra signature is a mix between it's parent's chakra signatures."_

The professor nodded enthusiastically.

"_Amazing. Well, it seems that I have a lot of work to do. I should be able to get a decent enough understanding of Naruto's chakra to create him a piece of armour. However, if I want to create each of you a piece of armour, I am almost positive that I will need to run at least one test on you at some point, as I might create a piece of armour for you that would only respond to Naruto's signature, and so it would be useless to you. At least, I would like to know your styles of fighting so as to create a suitable piece of armour for each of you."_

Renke noticed that they wanted a bit more of an explination on what the professor wanted to hear and spoke up.

"_I think the professor means with your techniques, do you use point blank range attacks, ranged attacks, do you lack speed, if it is important to you, that kind of thing."_

The professor nodded.

"_That is exactly what I meant."_

Naruto nodded and thought for a moment.

"_I mainly use my hands in point blank range ninjutsu and taijutsu and I'd kind of like a bit of defense as well as offense."_

The professor nodded.Everyone began thinking. Finally Hotaru spoke up.

"_I use a mixture of ninjutsu and taijutsu, however, my speed is fine. I mainly use my feet, shins and fists. I've met people before who I kicked and they just shook it off like I poked them. So a bit of extra power in my feet and shins would be good."_

The professor nodded. Sora spoke next.

"_I rely too much on lightning and remaining still. This is fine for most people, however, people who specialise in speed have an easy time with me. I'd probably like a big boost in speed."_

The professor looked at Gaara.

"_I do not move unless I am hit, which is rarely. I do not use taijutsu. I have what is called an absolute defense. There really is no need for armour."_

The professor looked at him quizzicly.

"_You don't move?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_Show him what you mean, Gaara."_

Gaara nodded and the cork on top of his gourd popped off before sand began funneling out. He made it form a wall around him. The professor and Renke looked startled. Hotaru nodded.

"_From what I've been able to figure out, the sand will protect him without him doing anything. However, if the shiled of sand is bypassed by chance, he has a second layer of defense, the armour of sand. The armour of sand is attached directly to the skin, and will replace itself on his command."_

On queue, Gaara's face turned to the colour of sand and the sand began to crack and fall off his face in lumps. The professor far too interested for his own good. He smiled.

"_Well, Gaara, it seems that as you said, a piece of armour is unnecessary for you. However, that sand has weaknesses, does it not?"_

Gaara nodded.

"_A few people have been able to penetrate the sand with sheer brute force. If possible, I wouldn't mind it being strengthened, for example, my father used to use what was deemed 'iron sand'. I never found out the composition of it, but I would guess it was either ground up iron, or possibly iron coated sand. I'm not sure though, but that's the best I can come up with."_

The professor nodded.

"_I'll see what I can do."_

He turned to Yukiko, who was the last one.

"_I use mainly ranged ninjutsu. I use a mixture of wood, death and healing techniques to help me in combat. If I want to play around, I will use taijutsu, however, if I use taijutsu, it usually means I'm not taking the enemy seriously because they're weak. My speed is fine as is, as is my strength. The only problem I have is genjutsu, but people who use genjutsu that is high enough to seriously affect me in the east are almost one in a million."_

The professor absently scratched his chin indicating he was deep in thought. He smiled at Yukiko.

"_It seems that you have no need for any of the pieces I had planned to modify. The only piece I could think of is a prototype pair of sleaves that form what's called a plasma ball. It's basically a defense that gives you a shield that you do not need to control, as it will deflect all incoming attacks. The only other piece I could think of is an illusionary eyepiece that lessens oponents illusions, but increases your own. However, you said that illusionists are rare in the east, correct?"_

Yukiko nodded. The professor mumbled to himself befroe he looked up.

"_Well, I'll see what I can do. OH! I still haven't seen this demonic gate you've told me about. Could I see it?"_

Naruto nodded and hopped off the bench, stood in front of the professor and closed his eyes.

"The first demonic gate. The Armour Gate. KAI!"

Everyone expected the chakra armour to come out of Naruto's stomach, however, Naruto shivered. He felt like his skin was crawling. Everyone in Naruto's group began looking at him strangely. Yukiko was getting concerned.

"Naruto? What's happening?"

Naruto shook his head violently.

"I... I don't know..."

Yukiko then noticed how the chakra armour was going to manifest itself. She saw that the pores of his skin were slowly starting to secrete the red goo like armour. After a while, everyone noticed this too. Naruto started gritting his teeth from the pain. Eventually, he screamed out loud as the amount of chakra exiting his pours almost quintupled (multiplied by 5) and the armour began to take shape. Naruto slowly lowered onto all fours. When his hands hit the ground, they could hear a slight hissing noise and saw smoke coming out from under his feet and hands. Naruto snarled as his chakra armour became opaque and made a very odd noise that was easily heard. None of them had ever heard anything like it. It sounded almost like a resonating sound. Eventually the armour returned back to the normal colour of blood red. However, Naruto's friends were awear this was very different from any of the previous times he'd released the first gate. Yukiko noticed that Naruto was straining his body. Eventually, Naruto spoke up.

"_**Such... Power... I must have at least twice the power of when I released the first gate before... It's also twice as hard to control..."**_

Yukiko knew exactly what the reason was and sighed.

"_It's probably because we absorbed our demons. Before, we were unable to tap most of their power because in essense, Nibi and Kyubi were transfering chakra from themselves to us, meaning that about 50 percent of it was lost in the transfer. It was a very crude method, but due to their near unlimited chakra reserves, it still had a very noticable effect. It seems that since we merged, we're now able to gain pretty much all of it."_

Naruto closed the first gate and the armour seeped off him and dispered into the atmosphere. The professor was staring at Naruto with fish eyes and a slightly open mouth. He smiled and spoke his mind.

"_If that was the power of the first gate, then if you opened all of them-"_

Naruto cut him off.

"_I would die."_

This shut him up immediately. Renke sighed and shook her head.

"_It seems you still have no tact, professor. Being down here for 40 years has had it's effect."_

The professor sighed and slumped his head and shoulders.

"_I'm... I'm sorry..."_

Naruto shook it off.

"_It's fine. If you still want to know how much power I would have. I'd guess that I could unleash attacks with power rivaling or possibly beating your harbinger crates."_

The professor nodded.

"_Would I be correct in assuming that each gate not only unleashes more power, but damages you more?"_

Naruto nodded. The man nodded solemnly.

"_I see. So the source of the power comes at a heavy price. How many people in the east can open the gates?"_

Yukiko thought for a moment.

"_Very few people below Chunin can even open the first gate. Some Jounins can open two or three. The most I have ever heard of being opened was 5. One is Naruto, and the other is a ninja who used nothing but hand to hand combat moves. His name was Lee. He told me once when he was learning to open them, he opened all five of them, and shortly after he began testing the powers, his muscles ripped from the sheer stress that was placed on them from his speed. He apparently spent several months in hospital in intensive care while his muscles recovered."_

The professor looked stared at the wall, deep in thought.

"_That answers all my questions. I'll get to work on them immedaitely. However, Naruto, it would be a hassle for Commander Renke to escort you here and let you in every time you come here, so I'll get you registered as a temporary staff member so you can let yourself in."_

Naruto nodded and the professor smiled.

"_Thank you all for coming here. I will get to work with the data I have. Commander Renke will lead you out. Naruto come with me please so I can get you registered."_

Naruto nodded and Renke turned and lead the others back to the lift. The professor followed them but turned off at the door before the lift. Inside were a lot of big machines. The professor led him up to a machine. The main part of it seemed to be an ovaloid piece of glass. The professor gestured to it.

"_Please put your right thumb onto that piece of glass and keep it there. This is a fingerprint scanning device, and we'll have to take several scans to make sure we can identify you when you place your thumb on the scanner at the front door."_

Naruto nodded and put his finger on the piece of glass. The professor pushed a red button which turned green when he pressed it. The machine started to hum as the glass turned red, flashing three times before flashing green a fourth time. The button depressed itself and turned red. The professor nodded.

"_That was the first scan. We need three more."_

So Naruto went through three more scans before the professor moved onto the second machine. The main apparent focus of this machine was a pair of rounded holes covered in black plastic. Naruto remembered Renke had put her eyes up to something very similar to let her into this building. Naruto put his eyes up to it and waited for the thing to start.

"_This will be rather bright, but please try to keep your eyes open as long as possible."_

Naruto nodded and he heard the maching began to hum. Suddenly, a blinding yellow light shone directly into his eyes and he closed his eyes on instinct. He slowly opened them, letting his eyes adjust to the light. After about 30 seconds, the light blinked off and the machine stopped humming. The professor tapped Naruto on the back.

"_Unlike the fingerprint scanner, we only need one cornea scan. You can step back now."_

Naruto did that and noticed that he was unable to see anything. He looked around madly and rubbed his eyes. The professor smiled, unknown to Naruto.

"_Unfortunately, that happens to all of us. You'll get your full sight back in several minutes."_

Naruto nodded and mumbled a question.

"_Any more tests?"_

"_Nope, that's it. The rest of the process is red tape as we call it. Just sorting out the offical documents and things. I suggest you sit down until your vision recoveres."_

The professor led Naruto to a chair. Naruto sat down and waited for his vision to clear. Two minutes passed and nothing changed. 5 minutes passed and still nothing. The professor was getting worried.

"_Still no vision?"_

Naruto shook his head.

"_Even those with the most sensitive vision would have recovered it by now. What could possibly be wrong?"_

Naruto groaned as he realised what was wrong.

"_Demon senses suck sometimes..."_

The professor raised an eyebrow at Naruto before he realised what Naruto was talking about.

"_Since you absorbed your demon, you gained demon senses... I would agree that would be troubling at times."_

After 10 minutes, Naruto's vision began to clear. 15 minutes later, his vision was pretty much back to normal. Naruto got up and smiled at the professor.

"_I can pretty much see as well as I normally could now."_

The professor smiled.

"_Well, it was lovely meeting you, Naruto. Please don't forget to come back once a month."_

Naruto chuckled.

"_I won't."_

The professor led Naruto to the lift and waved at Naruto as the lift door closed. Once Naruto reached to top, he walked down the corrdor until he got close to the door. He pretty soon realised that there was no handle on the door and no visable means of openeing it. He walked closer and inspected it, and the door opened for him. He looked at the door quizically before he saw a little green light above a piece of glass set above the door. He walked out, reminding himself to ask Renke how the door had opened as he walked back into the streets and into the bright afternoon sunlight, which made him squint. He felt the breeze ruffling his coat and he began walking off towards the palace, where he presumed everyone was.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**30 Minutes Later at the Front of the Palace:**

Naruto walked up the steps leading into the palace and greeted the guards on duty who smiled at him as he went past. This was how he always wanted things to be. People actually RESPECTED him, despite knowing what he was. He walked up to the reception desk and smiled at the secretary who smiled back at him. She was in her twenties with long brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a tight fitting dress that looked very professional, which Naruto had found out not too long ago was a business dress for women in Antioch.

"_Good afternoon, Naruto. Are you looking for your friends?"_

Naruto nodded.

"_They wouldn't happen to be here, would they?"_

The woman nodded.

"_They arrived back not to long ago with Commander Renke. They asked me to tell you that Jiraiya had asked to speak to all of you in the general mess hall."_

Naruto nodded and smiled one of his foxy grins at her.

"_Thanks. Have a good afternoon."_

She smiled back at him.

"_You too, Naruto."_

Naruto walked through the corridors, waving at people who he vaugly remembered. He finally got to the genral mess hall. Despite the name, the mess hall was anything but messy. It was kept immaculately clean, just like every other room in this palace. He saw several groups of soldiers, staff and even a few officers enjoying their afternoon tea. They all either smiled or waved at Naruto, which Naruto did right back to them. He eventually spotted his group sitting with Temujin deep in conversation. Yukiko turned around when Naruto got half way through the mess hall, as she detected his chakra signature that she had long ago burnt into her memory for all time. She smiled and waved at him, causing him to do the same thing back.

"_Naruto! You have to come and hear this!"_

Naruto nodded and Sora shifted over so Naruto could sit next to his girlfriend. Naruto put an arm around her waist under the table, trying to be descreet as possible. Temujin smiled at him.

"_It's been a few weeks since we last met. How have you been, Naruto?"_

Naruto smiled a pure smile, not one of those fake ones, which made Naruto's group releived.

"_Great. I love this city. I'm almost tempted to stay here."_

Temujin chuckled and smiled.

"_That's good to hear. I was asked to come here with a personal request that has been pushed through parliament. Supreme Commander Haido wants to know if you would be willing to teach several classes a week at the city's university."_

Naruto boggled.

"_Us? Teach?"_

Temujin nodded.

"_It seems that many members of the society want to get to know more about your culture. One of the lessons that is compulsory for every university student is called cultural history. It's basically a subject that teaches the students about other cutlures, so as to allow them to understand and apprecaite the differences between our culture and others."_

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.

"_There are other cultures besides the west and east?"_

Temujin shook his head, sending his blonde hair flying.

"_Not exactly. Like in the east, we have different countries, except we call them states. Although from what I've heard of the east, the different countires are always on the verge of war, in the west, the states are more in harmony with one another. Long ago, the city of Antioch was almost as large as it was now, however, the population was almost double what it is now. The government at the time soon realised that if we continued to just expand our city's borders, we would have a problem which was deemed 'urban sprawl'."_

Gaara looked at Temujin with a look of vague understanding.

"_Urban sprawl? Isn't that when a city begins to lose the ability to support it's population and they make a quick fix by building a lot of substandard houses and cheap apartment blocks, making the city's size grow out of proportion?"_

Temujin nodded.

"_That's the initial stage of it. The later stages usually include severe poverty in the areas furthest from the centre, inadequate utilities and other problems like the spread of disease. So the government came up with the idea of giving families large amounts of money to go and settle new areas. Many people took this chance as an opportunity to start a new life. Whole districts of people put their posessions into carts and left Antioch to start a new life. We stated that each family must keep in constant contact with Antioch to let us know how they were fairing. After about a century, most of the families had congrgated into groups and formed new towns, which grew in size to evetually become cities. After several centuries, we offered the new cities the chance to become semi independent states, which they all agreed to. Over time, each city developed it's own unique culture, and eventually we agreed that it would be best for each city to make a mandetory course in their university to learn about the cultures of the other cities."_

Naruto nodded and sighed.

"_If only the east could have been like that..."_

Temujin smiled sadly.

"_It seems that not all people can agree with another's views of life. Not even the west is immune to that. So will you do it?"_

Naruto looked at each of his friends, who nodded one by one as he looked to them for his answer. Naruto turned back to Temujin.

"_We'd love to."_

Temujin smiled happily.

"_That's great! When would you like to start?"_

Naruto shurgged.

"_A week sound good to everyone?"_

They all nodded and Temujin smiled a bright smile.

"_That's excellent. I'll go and tell Supreme Commander Haido of your acceptance."_

Temujin started getting up when Naruto remembered something. They hadn't been told why the west wanted them to come in the first place. He decided now was a good a time as any to ask.

"_Temujin?"_

Temujin smiled at him.

"_Yes Naruto?"_

"_What exactly was the reason you wanted to see diplomats from the east?"_

Temujin's eyes widened in shock before they narrowed.

"_You haven't been told yet?"_

They all nodded, even Jiraiya, which surprised them. Temujin smiled.

"_Basically, we called you over here for a few reasons. One was to set up a trading route between the east and west. Another was to see if it was possible for us to set up a base camp of sorts in the east, and slowly start trying to intergrate with the east. The final reason was to warn the east that it would not be an intelligent idea to come over here often due to the ever escalating war."_

They all nodded, satisfied with the answer. Temujin shook his head in disbelief, sending his long golden hair swishing around his head.

"_I cannot beleive that Supreme Commander Haido had neglected mentioning it to you. It should have been one of the first things he mentioned to you on the trip here. This is most puzzling indeed..."_

At that point, said man came walking into the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood to salute their leader. He smiled and walked over to Naruto and his group. He smiled and waved at them, however, he noticed their odd looks. He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"_Is something wrong?"_

Temujin nodded.

"_Sir, Naruto has just told me that none of them have been informed about the reasons they were brought to the west. May I inquire why?"_

Haido sighed and nodded.

"_There is no ulterior motive. The reason I had not told them yet was that the only easterner that came here was rather... Violent. I regret having kept it secret from you for so long, but I was asked to confirm that you were not like the last one. I appologise if I have lost your trust, but the council would not allow me to tell you the reasons until your intentions were verified. I may be the leader of the armies, and I can order anything short of a Harbinger strike unopposed, however, matters of diplomacy and all other non military related matters I cannot decide upon without the approval of the council. The council had just given me the authorisation to fill you in on the details, and so I came to get both your answer to the request Commander Temujin had proposed to you and to fill you in on the reason you were brought here. Again, my appologies for witholding information."_

Haido handed a very official slip of paper to Jiraiya, who skim read it before handing it to everyone else. Once they had all read it, including Temujin, they nodded and smiled. Temujin had confirmed that it was indeed an unforged document by the watermark found on all council offical documents. They smiled and Naruto turned to Haido.

"_We didn't doubt you for a second. It just got us curious, that's all."_

Haido smiled widely at Naruto, causing wrinkles showing his age to appear on his face.

"_I'm amazed that you can be so forgiving. Some people never cease to amaze me."_

Naruto smiled his trademark foxy grin at him, and Haido smiled back before he turned to Temujin.

"_I assume they accepted the request?"_

Temujin smiled and nodded.

"_They were a bit surprised that they had been asked to give lessons at the University, however, they accepted. They agreed to start in a week."_

Haido nodded.

"_In a few days time, I will have the days and times that the cultural history classes are held on. I will let you sort out which clases each of you decide to teach."_

Naruto nodded and smiled.

"_Leave it to us!"_

Everyone who was around Naruto smiled. He had an almost boundless amount of happiness that was highly infectious. Jiraiya shook his head and thought to himself.

_'If only you could see him now, Arashi..."_

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A Week Later, at the front of the University:**

As Haido had said, the timetables of the cultural history classes had arrived on the second morning after the conversation in the mess hall. They had quickly found out that the university worked on a two week roster. The classes they were supposed to teach were spaced evenly through out the two weeks, and they saw that since there was a class every third day, they decided to teach one class each, and then work on a rotation of teaching the last class once every five weeks. When it came to who was going to teach when, they decided that the only way to decide it fairly would be to pull numbers out of a box that Jiraiya had brought our from somewhere. Naruto of couse, picked number one. Gaara had picked two, Hotaru three, Yukiko four and Sora five. They then decided that the rotation for the last class would also go in that order. Naruto had been waiting impatiently for the day he was supposed to teach. Accroding to the roster, his class was the first class of the day on monday morning, however, despite his anticipation, he had overslept by an hour. He quickly rushed through his morning ritual and ran out the door. He ran down the streets to where he had been told the university was. People smiled and waved at him, which he did right back. Being the prankster that he was, an idea struck him. He had overheard young people talking about a new lecturer at the university for the cultural history class, but no one had any idea who it was going to be. He saw the university over the top of a supermarket he walked by and decided to slip down the alley way. He saw that it was a short cut that led straight to the gates of the university. He walked into the alley way and snickered. He thought carefully for a moment before he put his hands together in a ram seal and muttered the word to himself.

"Henge."

When the smoke cleared, Naruto had become a very famous tardy Jounin of Konoha. He had his book, Icha Icha Paradise in hand and he lesurely walked out of the alley way and into the university gates. Everyone who was still outside stared at him. Naruto walked into the glass front door of the university and was stopped by the receptionist.

"_Can I help you sir?"_

The Kakashi look alike looked up and closed his eye in what those that knew him would recognise as a smile.

"_I'm looking for the cultural history class."_

The woman raised her eyebrow and stared at him, trying to decide what to make of the man.

"_Are you a new student?"_

Kakashi smiled again.

"_Yup."_

The lady nodded and pointed down the hall with her pen.

"_Go to the end of the hallway and take the lift to the third floor. It's room 321."_

Kakashi smiled.

"_Thank you."_

With that, he lesurely walked up the hallway, gaining inquisitive looks from everyone he past. He ignored them and focused on his book. He got to the elevator and got in, taking it to the third floor. He got out and noticed the signs above the doors. He walked along the hall way until he reached room 321 and opened the door. He walked inside, suddenly noticing that everyone was staring at him. He got to the front of the lecture hall and held up his free hand and smiled at them.

"_Yo! Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the road known as life today."_

Everyone was shocked into silence. One girl finally pointed to the book.

"_What is that book?"_

Kakashi made a 'hmm' noise and looked at the book before he smiled.

"Ecchi."

They stared at him in incomprehension. He smiled widely and translated it.

"_Porn."_

Most of them had a very visable reaction. Some of them choked and started coughing while others blushed furiously. Naruto decided he'd teased them enough and released the Henge, returning to his ture self. He was howling with laughter. Eventually he calmed himself and turned back to them.

"_Sorry everyone. My second teacher had the world record for being tardy. His record for being late was three and a half hours. Out of the time I've known him, he's only been on time once. Also, he always carries around that book you saw and reads it in public."_

They were now completely wrapped with Naruto. He smiled at them and decided to begin with some basics.

"_We've been asked to teach you about the east, so I'm going to start with a general introduction. Also, if you have any questions, please stop me. I'd rather you all understand what I'm talking about than a bunch of you walking out of here wondering what I was on about. First things first, if you want ask me a question, refer to me as Naruto-Sensei. In the east, the suffix Sensei is attached to the first name of your teacher. It's generally a sign of good manners that if you meet them in public, you use that title as well."_

They all nodded. Naruto taught them for the duration of the lesson, and they had asked questions when they did not understand what he had meant about something. They didn't ask questions at first, and Naruto realised that they must not be allowed to question their lecturers. He sighed and looked at them.

"_You know, I generally think I've failed if I get no questions. Surely one of you has at least one question as to what I've said so far?"_

Slowly a young man raised his hand. Naruto smiled and pointed to him.

"_Ok, seems I haven't failed. What did you want to know?"_

The boy softly spoke his question, so softly that even with Naruto's demon senses, he'd only picked up fragments of it. Naruto sighed.

"_Look you guys. I don't know if you're allowed to question your other lecturers or not, but do not be afraid to question me about something you didn't understand. I'm not going to think you're weird if you do, on the contrary, I'll think you're a better person if you do. Now, speak up."_

The man said it in a much clearer voice this time.

"_Um, when you said that the Kage's were only in the top five villages, which villages were you talking about?"_

Naruto smiled.

"_Very good question. The top five villages are the leaf, the mist, the stone, the sand and the cloud."_

After that, people stopped hesitating to follow Naruto's advice and question him if there was something they didn't understand. By the time Naruto realised he had been teaching for almost two hours, he came to a conclusion. He liked teaching. He sighed.

"_It seems the class is almost over. There's no point in continuing, as I wouldn't get the chance to get half way through the next part. So I guess I'll just let you guys ask me any questions about what I've talked about today."_

At least six hands shot into the air. Naruto took all their questions and answered them. By the time he'd finished with them, he realised he'd gone over time.

"_Well, it looks like I went over time. Sorry about that everyone. Next lesson, you'll have my friend Gaara teach you. I assume he's going to tell you about the job of being a kage and how villages are run. For those of you who don't know, Gaara is the current Kazekage."_

They nodded and filed out of class. Naruto walked out after them and headed back home.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Yay! Another chapter down for the count. I'd really like your comments on how you think I introduced Gelel and the history I half guessed and half made up for it. Until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	30. Intermission 4

**A/N:** Yo... No excuses this time, just the truth. I've been battling a mild version of glangular fever, so it's kinda hard to get out of bed. Sorry to all those of you who want me to update, but I can barely get out of bed. I've got the next chapter about half to ¾ finished, but I don't have the energy to keep writing. Sorry bout that everyone...

Specula.


	31. Birthdays & Breaking Seals

**A/N:** Yo! I met a kitten who had lost his mittens-

READERS: LIAR!

Meh. Anyways, I decided to take a week or so break from writing to recover and contemplate my future, so I went and read a few more new fics I hadn't read before and reread the manga and rewatched the anime. Some of the fics made Naruto way way way too powerful and he kept getting stronger. I read one that by the time he'd completed his C rank mission in the wave he could supposedly kill Itachi in one shot... I think you can guess my opinions on that. BTW, I am now officially on holidays for 2 weeks, meaning no University pressure. I'll try to make up for my lack of work, as now all I have is a really annoying cough. Guys, I have one final question. I love writing this story, don't get me wrong, but would you guys kill me if I took a break from it to start writing my Naruto x Female Kyubi story? If you guys really want, I'll try writing both at the same time, however, I war you that I may start favouring one or the other if I get a case of writer's block on one of them, and the quality of each could drop. Hell, I'll make this into a vote. First to 20 wins. Finish this story, or put this one on hold for a while and start the NaruxFemKyu story, or do both of them at the same time? Even if this story wins, when I finish it, I will not go straight onto the second part, I will start the other storyline. Trust me, as a writer, writing about the same thing every day for 4 weeks can get a little... tedious. It's enjoyable, but I am kinda hating it at the same time. So, what'll it be?

**Keep Writing Tail of Two Bijus:** 0/20

**Start Naruto x Female Kyubi Story:** 0/20

**Both:** 0/20

**Yukiko: RESULTS: Plasma Defensive Sleaves.**

**(D): **

**(I): Plasma Defense Sleeves:** 5

**(II): Genjutsu Eyepiece:** 0

Comments/Reviews:

**SotY:** When I first read your review, I was literally like "wtf are you talking about?" and just before I typed up your name, the latest issue of Naruto manga finished Dling, I read it and got to the end and I was like "OOOOOOOOO That's what he meant!" Anywho, seems my story is ruined now, huh? 'Sobs'...

**ShadowofaMagus:** Thank ye. Oh, and after I read your review, I searched your profile and read your story. To tell you the truth, there is only one pairing that will ever get me to read stories under 100k words, which is Naruto x Female Kyubi. Those stories are so rare that there is only one that has reached the 100k mark, and the female Kyubi was one of the lesser females going for Naruto, who happened to be undead. It was interesting, but meh. Anyways Cut a long story short, I've read every single story on this site with 100k words plus that involved a non Yaoi pairing with Naruto and someone else as the main pairing. Anyways, as you can see, I left a review with some constructive criticism and comments. Catch you round!

**White Alchemist Taya:** Thanks. As for dragging the story out, There was a bunch of stuff I had to get out of the way at the beginning that if I left for later, it would screw with the whole story. I've pretty much covered 90 or so percent of the background, and I'll begin speeding this up once the last 10ish percent is done. Personally, I want to get this west trip over and done with and get to the defining point of the first story in the series. Some of you may have figured out what that 'defining point' is, and I know one person has for sure, but they've sworn an oath to secrecy. Once this story hits the 200k words mark, I'll have achieved my original objective and I'll wrap it up ASAP.

**Shinku Naito:** 'Bows'. TY.

**MoOn-ShInE-LoRd:** He he, he was always known as a prankster, so did you really expect any less? As for the part of Naruto not liking teaching, would that imply that you thought Naruto would never become a Jounin and take on a cell? I'd have thought that'd be his first major step towards being Hokage, training the Sannin's replacement's replacements, if that makes sense... Late reviews? I think there is a saying for this: Better late than never. As long as you still review occasionally, I'm content to know you're still a fan. Um, I think I'll have Naruto keep the facility intact for the time being... Thanks for the positive comments. As for the spelling mistakes, unless they're really obscure ones, the reason would be my computer. Yes, I'm blaming my computer. Why? Because I built it myself, and it was the first one I had ever built. Unfortunately, it has a nasty habit of going through three 'jarring' motions every 45 or so seconds. I found out I can find out when they hit by having music playing as it skips when the computer jars. Each jarr last less than 2 seconds, but if I don't have music on, I look back over my work and find that there's some very odd looking collection of letters in places where the jarring occurred. Say for example, I was typing 'happy smile' and the jarring started without me knowing. It could come out in many ways, but it would look something like this: hpsym. The effects are completely random, but that's generally what I get, something of that level of randomness. Otherwise, it's just a silly spelling error. Plasma Sleaves for Yukiko+1.

**Conceptor:** The chapter was so good it was a god chapter? Sweet! Lol, j/king :P As for Students advancing on Yukiko, everyone's pretty much aware of the fact now that Naruto and Yukiko are pretty much inseparable.

**Kyuubi-Sama:** KK+1 for Plasma Defensive Sleaves.

**ki master:** Hmm? When did I say anything about a poll for that? Sorry, but this choice I'm taking out of the readers hands. I have one and only one idea in mind that would work, and it involves one, two, or three people depending on how you look at it.

**Dragon Noir:** +1 for Sleaves. Want to know what they're like? Think of them as a very much extended version of the council of Konoha. Mostly scheming old geezers. Tempted to stay here and teach? Am I really the only person who understands how Naruto would think in pretty much any given situation? Sure, he's my main role model, but think about it. Everyone here accepted him respected him for who he was, and not what he was the second they met him, despite him telling them what he was. He didn't have to earn the respect the hard way, by showing everyone that he was a powerful, caring person and not some demon fox lord incarnate. I explained teaching a few comments above. Gaara teaching? Let's just say he'd best be prepared... LOL... I'm so evil...

**ThouShaltKill:** Um, read the rest of the story and find out :P

**shadowvampire17:** Another +1 to the sleaves... No votes for Genjutsu-y goodness?

**Katana Haibane:** Heh heh, I tried to base him off what I know of a friend's parents who are scientists, he's told me a lot about them, and so I based his pretty much off his dad. Anyways, I had to change the storyline of the second movie to suit my fic, meaning that most of the stuff on Gelel in my fic was pure speculative thought. In the movie, Gelel was thought of as the source of all life. A vein of mana in it's purest form. However, that would not suit my story, so I modified it so it would. Heh, the professor won't be able to keep himself restrained, however, I think he learnt from the first experience that regular chakra + Gelel bad combo. As for spilling themselves, I guess it was just the pure shock that everyone heard this and actually respected them for it, unlike in the east where they would pretty much piss their pants and run away screaming. Another vote for Sleaves? KK.

**White-ribbon:** Well, you seemed to have misread what I said. 25 percent at the very least. Not 25 percent. I had to modify it as since there was only 3 members of team 7 in the official story, but since there was four in my fic, there was the possibility that one or more of the four would fail, hence the 25 percent minimum failure rate.

**Neotonix:** Yay! Another person who thinks my story should replace the fillers! You know, at the weirdest moments, I just stop what I'm typing and realise that I'm actually writing this story. It kinda feels like a dream. I always knew I had a talent for creative literature, my teachers always told me that, and my results in the state creative literature competitions only confirmed that. The lowest mark I ever got was a single credit, the highest I ever got was a single high distinction. The rest were distinctions. However, this coming from multiple fans just means so much more. Thank you. /bow. As for the reason the whole invasion was called off? I guess if the stadium hadn't been put under the genjutsu, people would have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off, making it hard for the ninjas to engage in combat. Also, the genjutsu was supposed to set of a chain of signals that would trigger the invasion. Since the first trigger never took place, the sand and sound could only think the plan had been abandoned.

**Master of Anime:** Well, I'm not sure whether to rate you as a flamer or someone who's blind. My spelling terrible? Did you stop for a second to think that my 'terrible' spelling might just be because I'm using Australian English instead of American? In Australia mom is spelt mum, color is spelt colour and there are a whole bunch of different things about the Australian version of English. Sure there were accidental typos in each chapter that can mostly be explained with the 'jarr'ing thing above, but a lot of people have actually commented on how good my spelling and grammar actually are compared to others on this site. Sure, the spelling mistakes are present, but I don't put nearly as much effort into spell checking as I do into speed. Also as for the fact that the east have trains and cars, does the word 'canon' mean anything to you? As a 'master of anime', I'm pretty sure it would. The Naruto movies and fillers are not considered canon, meaning that unless the people who created Naruto implicitly state so, it never happened according to the official story line. Therefore, according to my fic, the Snow was a very different place to what the first movie made it out to be. Seriously, get that Byakugan checked, it's faulty. It's one thing to suggest checking my spelling, but to say it's terrible? That's an out and out flame. /Wave .kill .setlevel 1 .ban. People who have an extensive knowledge of World of Warcraft will understand this jargon, although it's pretty easy to get the drift of it.

**FanXforever:** Thanks! I've actually considered becoming a professional author some time. Hope you keep reading!

**Zarron:** Good to hear. As for the animal transformations, no, they weren't taken from bloody roar. The officers of the second Naruto movie actually did transform into half beasts. However, not all of them changed into half beasts when they transformed. One of them changed into this beefed up Frankenstein like thing. Now for your other questions: Ingan: Hmmm, perhaps I didn't word it well enough. Like the fourth level Sharingan, it still takes a lot of chakra just to activate, and I was using the chakra recovery factor on the basis that the user was training the majority of the time. The Ingan will still drain chakra at a rate faster than Naruto's chakra regen rate if he did nothing, but if he did decide to do nothing, he'd be able to stay in there for almost a month, assuming he started at full chakra. Demon Absorption: Technically yes, however, as explained when Naruto first tried to bring out Kyubi's chakra since the seals broke, the transfer method before the seals broke was a pretty crude method, meaning 50 percent of the chakra that was transferred was lost before Naruto even got to use it. Now, he gets 100 percent of it, meaning he's not used to the sheer amount of power and hatred that comes with it. It'll correct itself with training. As for the bios on the officers? Um... They have like 3 of what would be considered techniques by the east plus their transformation. To tell you the truth, I don't know enough about their background to do a bio. I don't know their age, bloodtype, birthday, etc, so sorry, no can do.

**Ani-Blast:** Yup! I guess you could consider the Militia the Christian version of real world Muslim terrorist groups. To tell you the truth, I don't give a damn if the real world Pope or any Christians for that matter call this fic a spawn of Satan or whatever. If they do, it just shows they're so narrow minded that they've gone back to the dark ages. Hell, if the Pope speaks out about my fic, it's even better! I'll literally become world famous! They called Harry Potter heresy, who knows why, and look where it got that series, so it wouldn't be surprising if they called mine heresy.

**Redswirl:** KK, will do.

**Because I can:** Thanks for the comments. The Plasma Defensive Sleaves have already been chosen. I hope to catch you round.

**Redswirl:** So I'm not the only one who thinks that? Score!

**Asavako:** Thank you, you too.

**God in a box:** Yo! I may as well answer all of your reviews in one. Firstly, I am not exactly sure what this Susano-wo thing is. Could you possibly explain it to me? As for me watching Bleach, unfortunately, I don't have the time to. I barely get to watch Naruto, let alone anything else. ROFL! "wow yukiko-chan, look at all the pretty hills and flowers and …" /gaara battle "… craters and stuff" Ha! That's classic. I can imagine it in my mind now... All the citizens running for their lives while all the fan girls are screaming "OMG! HE'S SO STRONG! I LOVE HIM SOOOO MUCH!" Along with other less... Tactful remarks. Animania? I'll be there as everyone's favortite weasel. (You know who I'm talking about, right?). I'm starting to wonder if everyone will find out who I am and I'll get a fan club of girls like Gaara has... 'shudders'. Oh god. Anyways, See you and anyone else who comes there!

**Yasei Kitsune:** I'm not lying... Lol, catch you round.

**FINAL NOTE:** Thank you to everyone wishing me to get better, it's really nice to know that a few people care. Unlike some others who actually laughed at me for taking 5 days off University, despite the fact that I could barely get out of bed. (This includes my family and most of the other people I know.) Also, you may notice my writing style's changed a bit. Sorry if this displeases you, but it's because of certain things going on in my life.

As always, I hope my creativity gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Oh and just so people don't get any funny ideas, I don't own Naruto, however, people make it clear that I should. The only things I own are Yukiko, Hotaru, Sora and my story line, as well as the other things I made up. Don't like that? Tough cheddar:P

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Japanese..."

"_...English..."_

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 24:

Birthdays & Breaking Seals:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Four Months Later:**

Everyone had settled down into their routines of teaching and studying Western culture and history in their spare time. Early one morning as the sun was threatening to spill over the horizon, four months after they had started teaching, they were startled out of their sleep by a huge surge of demonic chakra. This woke everyone up as they hurriedly threw on some gowns and ran to Hotaru's room. She was sitting up with a look of confusion in her eyes. Over the last four months, Gaara had started developing feelings for Hotaru, although he didn't really know it yet. He ran to her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Hotaru?"

Hotaru tried to speak, but only fractions of words came out. Eventually she managed to say something.

"I... Heard... A cracking... Noise..."

Naruto pretty much knew what was happening, but he activated his Ingan to make sure. Sure enough, a tiny part of Hotaru's seal was glowing. Naruto deactivated his Doujutsu and smiled.

"Congratulations. You're seal's breaking."

They stared at him, trying to understand how that could possibly be good, before they remembered what had happened almost a year ago. Sora lunged at Hotaru and hugged her. Yukiko giggled at the antics of Sora, while everyone else just smiled. Hotaru managed to free herself from the giggling Sora and looked at Naruto. Naruto by now knew Hotaru well enough to know what she wanted, and once again, activated his Ingan. He needed to know one thing before he gave an estimate, although he was sure what the answer was already.

"Hotaru. You're birthday's in early September isn't it?"

Hotaru nodded.

"The 3rd."

It fit with what Naruto was seeing. Disengaging the Ingan he smiled at her.

"The 3rd is when it'll break. We'll have to arrange somewhere for your seal to break..."

They thought over it before Naruto remembered.

"A blast chamber would be perfect."

They nodded in agreement, before they heard shouts and quick foot steps coming down the hallway. The door to Hotaru's room burst open and Renke, Temujin and about 5 other lesser officers barged in with their weapons drawn. When they saw that the group was in no imminent danger, they relaxed and Temujin gave a dismissive wave, signalling the guards to wait outside. Renke looked at them with nothing but concern on her face.

"_What was that... Evil I just felt? I wouldn't be surprised if half the city felt it."_

Naruto's group stared at them in shock. Naruto stammered out his question.

"_You... You felt it?"_

Temujin nodded.

"_It was extremely hard NOT to. What happened?"_

Hotaru smiled indicating she was fine and spoke up.

"_Apparently, my seal will break on my birthday this year."_

Temujin and Renke nodded slowly, before they realised what was going to happen on Hotaru's birthday.

"_So a much more powerful aura will be released when it breaks?"_

Yukiko nodded before looking at them seriously.

"_We will need to use one of the blast chambers when it happens. The chakra surge you felt just then will be dwarfed by the one released when the seal breaks. Also, at least I will need to be present to stop the merging before her body is destroyed by the influx of demonic chakra."_

Temujin nodded and smiled before he waved a goodbye.

"_I will go and talk to Supreme Commander Haido. I'm sure he will agree immediately. Also, please don't tell others about the seal breaking, as I fear some people may become fearful of it. If they inquire, just tell them you channelled your chakra. I'll see you guys later."_

He stepped outside, having a quick conversation with the guards, who fell behind him in formation. Once they left Renke turned to go, before she remembered something. She turned back around and smiled sadly at them.

"_I forgot to mention. Supreme Commander Haido had decided to deploy me to an outlying state due to a large increase in Militia attacks there. I have been asked to leave in exactly two weeks, so I'll be pretty much unavailable during that time, because I have to get my branch ready to move. I'll still visit you when I can."_

They all looked at their feet, trying desperately to think of something to say to lighten the mood. Eventually Naruto looked up and smiled the smile that his friends knew meant 'oh well, can't be helped' and scratched the back of his forehead.

"_Well, I hope you get back soon!"_

Renke sighed and shook her head, meaning it wasn't going to be the shortest stay on record. Naruto felt bad and mumbled an apology, which Renke waved off and shook her head, sending her blonde hair flying with each shake. Renke smiled at them.

"_I may or may not be able to visit you before I leave, however, I promise you I will visit you at least a few hours before I leave."_

They nodded and waved as Renke left the room, who smiled and did a very Sasuke like wave before she left the room and closed the door. They could hear her quiet footsteps retreating down the hallway. Naruto looked at his watch. It read 6 am, causing him to sigh.

"No point going back to sleep. I have to teach the class in several hours, and then it's straight on to the research institute for another session."

Naruto didn't really mind. After the first time he revisited and the professor had told him about all sorts of tests he was going to perform, Naruto had stopped him with a raised hand, telling him if he even tried something like that, he'd stop coming, which shut the professor up immediately. The most invasive test Naruto had agreed to was a blood sample. He was broken out of his little trip down memory lane when he was vaguely aware of a subtle change in the light his eyes were receiving with regular intervals in between. He snapped back to the present and saw Sora waving her hand in front of Naruto's face.

"Earth to Naruto, are you there?"

Naruto started before he smiled at Sora, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah, sorry, just taking a trip down memory lane..."

Gaara looked at Naruto and cracked a half smile.

"It wouldn't happen to involve a certain mad scientist, would it?"

Everyone in the room stopped and stared at Gaara in pure and utter disbelief. Had he just cracked... A joke? Sure, it wasn't a good one, but... It was still a joke... Right? They pinched themselves to make sure this wasn't a dream. Gaara frowned.

"Was it not funny?"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. The absurdity of the situation was just too much for him to handle. He fell on the floor rolling around in laughter. The others soon joined in, although to a much lesser extent than Naruto. Gaara smiled, knowing that he'd finally made his friends laugh.

"So it was a good joke?"

Naruto managed to get back up and speak a sentence during the fits of laughter.

"Not bad for a first attempt. It's just we've never heard you make a joke, so it was more funny than it would be otherwise. Gaara, if you hang around my little group for a while, you'll see some real jokes."

Naruto had a wicked glint in his eyes, which everyone but Gaara didn't like one bit. Gaara on the other hand had no idea what was going on, but he decided he might as well hang out with Naruto during his free time.

"I might even be able to escape the fan girls..."

Although it was a lesser joke, it was still another one. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Gaara questioningly, which cause Gaara to tilt his head to the side in a questioning manner.

"Is something wrong?"

Naruto smiled.

"You just made another joke."

Gaara raised both eyebrows.

"I... Did?"

Naruto nodded and smiled. Then he got a very, very evil glint in his eye. Even Gaara noticed this.

"Naruto?"

Naruto snickered.

"You remind me exactly of myself when I first decided to start trying to joke and play pranks to get people's attention. Gaara... I think you might be a natural born prankster..."

Gaara nodded. Everyone else, however, really disliked the idea of Gaara becoming a prankster on par with Naruto. One prank master was more than enough for them, how would they handle two? However, Naruto decided to leave the room, giving everyone a last wave. They slowly left the room to go and attend to their own business. Yukiko was last to leave the room, making sure that Hotaru was fine. Naruto decided to try and get to the university early, so he had a shower, dressed in his black pants and muscle shirt, throwing his kitsune coat over his shoulders and went down to the mess hall. Once he arrived, he greeted the officers who waved at him, making him wave right back. He walked up to the glass display to see what was on offer. Being Monday, it was bacon and eggs or cereal and fruit. He decided to go with the classic western breakfast: bacon, eggs and hash browns with a glass of milk. He'd found out that he really, really liked hash browns, almost as much as ramen. Once, he'd even asked how to make them, which surprised the chef. However, the chef had smiled and told him that all a hash brown consisted of was mashed potato that had been deep fried. When Naruto inquired what deep frying meant, the chef had taken Naruto into the kitchen and showed him a deep fryer. Naruto looked at it in wonder as the chef explained that it was essentially a basin that was full of some sort of liquid which a large chunk of pure fat was put into every morning and heated to very high temperatures. Naruto watched as the chef had put a roughly rectangular shaped box which looked like a strainer into the deep fryer. In the metal strainer was a bunch of roughly hash brown shaped bits of mash potato. Once the potato touched the oily mixture, it hissed and bubbled, letting off a wonderful aroma. After several minutes, the chef pulled the strainer out to reveal a bunch of hash browns. Naruto asked if there was any other way to make hash browns other than a deep fryer. The chef had wondered for a moment before replying that it was technically possible to fill a frying pan or saucepan with oil and cook it in it, but it was very messy and tasted no where near as good as when it was cooked in a deep fryer. Naruto made a mental note to get the blueprints of a deep fryer to take back with him. He would not be able to live without hash browns for long. He stopped himself and realised he was as addicted to hash browns as he was to ramen before he met Yukiko. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he returned to the present. He'd gotten four pieces of bacon, two eggs and 5 hash browns on his tray before making his way to a familiar group of officers who he'd grown pretty close to. When they saw Naruto approach, they moved up and gave him a spot, which Naruto gladly took. One of the officers smirked when he saw Naruto's plate. Naruto turned to look at the man when he spoke up, and could see that the officer's red eyes held a great deal of warmth.

"_You never get tired of those hash browns, do you Naruto?"_

Naruto laughed before biting off a piece of the first one and chewing it.

"_Nope. I've decided that I'm going to find a place that makes deep fryers and get the blueprints for one so I can have hash browns back home."_

They all laughed at this before shaking their heads in amusement. A brown haired red eyed colonel had a question for Naruto.

"_Did you like anything as much as hash browns before you came here, Naruto?"_

Naruto nodded his head as he went for one of his pieces of bacon. Once he'd eaten it, he looked at the man and smiled.

"_Yup. I loved ramen."_

The colonel raised an eyebrow.

"_Ramen?"_

Naruto sighed but brightened up at the thought that he could introduce more people to the wonder that was ramen.

"_Yeah! Ramen is this really great stuff! It's kind of like a mix between spaghetti without the sauce and soup, with some other things thrown in."_

They nodded, showing they understood the general idea he was trying to get across to them. They chatted and laughed at each other's jokes and antics before Naruto checked his watch. He decided he should get going. Picking up his now empty plate, he waved goodbye to his friends.

"_I have about an hour and a half to get to the university to teach my class. I'll catch you guys around, ok?"_

They all nodded and waved as Naruto left them to finish off their breakfast. Naruto put his plate on the dirty plate stack and his knife and fork next to it in the trays for used knives and forks. Naruto went back to the bathroom assigned to his group and brushed his teeth. Once he had done that, he checked himself in the mirror noticing his features before a certain annoying voice in the back of his head spoke up.

_**'Admiring yourself are we? Not falling in love with yourself?'**_

Naruto had learnt a rather effective method for shutting his former tenant up. He had learnt a moderately complex medical technique from Yukiko which focused chakra into a part of the brain and applied a barrier between synapses in the area you focus your chakra to, normally used to prevent electrical surges from disrupting your brain or other harmful transmissions between cells. However, Yukiko had also found that it was surprisingly good for shutting up annoying voices of demons that are stuck in your head. Naruto focused the chakra to his brain his demon was located in. The Kyubi felt this and sighed. The chakra hit him and blocked the synapses, thereby preventing Kyubi from talking to the kid until Naruto decided to let him talk again. Considering how much stamina the kid had, it could be up to half a week, but it also depending on his mood. If he was in a good mood, he'd let it down early, however, if he was angry, he'd keep it up as long as possible. Naruto walked out and saw Yukiko coming out of their room. Yukiko also saw Naruto and turned her head to the side smiling.

_'I'll never get tired of that smile...'_

Naruto took in his girlfriend's features. She'd changed a lot since their journey started. Her turquoise hair had grown, coming down to her waist. Yukiko at one point had suggested cutting it, but Naruto had claimed he like it long, which changed Yukiko's mind immediately. Her violet eyes no longer held that fake warmth that she used to hide her pain. It was now replaced with a genuine happiness that could almost be felt radiating off her. Her cheeks had lost the small amount of baby fat that she had almost three years ago, giving her a very elegant look. Her body, according to Naruto, was befitting of a goddess. Her chest was perfectly proportioned to her body, and her waist was not too thin so as to look unhealthy, but not too wide either. Her legs, although hidden by a traditional upper class white western robe, were perfectly sculpted, but also showed tone. Yukiko saw Naruto staring at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong, Naruto-Kun?"

Naruto was snapped out of his admiring and shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong. Quite the opposite in fact..."

Yukiko raised a turquoise eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh? And what would that stare be for? You didn't happen to be admiring me, did you?"

Yukiko by now knew practically every way to get a reaction out of her boyfriend, and this was one of the best ones. Naruto began blushing furiously before stuttering his relpy.

"S-So? Is it a crime to admire my girlfriend?"

Yukiko giggled and glomped him, causing Naruto to instinctively wrap his hands around her waist. Yukiko nuzzled her head against the crook of his neck whispering just loud enough for him to hear.

"No. I like it when you do."

This was the answer Naruto had wanted to hear, so he hugged her tighter. Naruto brought his head back and gazed into her eyes. Yukiko smiled at him as they brought their heads in for a kiss...

Only to be interrupted by Jiraiya, who at that point came out of his room and seeing them about to lean in for the kill so to speak, gave Naruto a knowing look and a thumbs up, which Naruto saw. He growled, causing Yukiko to look up at him before turning around to see a very scared looking Jiraiya scampering down the hall. Yukiko sighed, the moment was shattered and she disentangled herself from his arms, much to the displeasure of Naruto. Naruto groaned and looked at his watch, seeing he still had 45 minutes to get to the university. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked through the halls before ending up outside. He leisurely walked through the bustling city streets, waving at people as he went. Eventually he got to the university and stopped to admire it for a moment. It was a rather tall building that seemed to be made almost entirely out of glass. On top of the university, Naruto could just see the tip of a large piece of inert Gelel, which had been moulded into a giant roughly triangular shaped object that was the university's symbol. He smiled and stepped inside, waving to the receptionist before taking the lift to the third floor and walked into the familiar room of 321. As he opened the door, the room instantly quietened down. Naruto walked into the middle of the room and smiled at his students, raising a hand.

"_Morning, everyone."_

"_Good morning, Naruto-Sensei."_

For the next two hours, Naruto went through his prepared lesson on eastern foods and eating habits. About half way through the lesson, he noticed that one of the students had apparently dropped off to sleep, while listening to music. Naruto stopped his lesson and stared at the student before he walked up and shook him on the shoulder.

"_Hey, is my class really that boring?"_

The boy looked up and smiled bleary eyed at his teacher.

"_No, Naruto-Sensei. I just haven't slept for the last 3 days because of my studies."_

Naruto noticed the odd sounds coming out of the headphones and decided to inquire about it.

"_So, what're you listening to?"_

The boy and the rest of the class looked at Naruto in shock. He wasn't going to chew him out for slacking off? The boy stammered his answer.

"_Um... A mixture of ska, techno, heavy metal and heavy rock."_

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. Most of them he'd heard of, but not ska.

"_Ska? Can I have a listen?"_

The boy nodded dumbly and changed the music player to a ska song and handed the head phones to Naruto. He waited for the song to start, before a very strange collection of instruments blared out of the head phones temporarily deafening him. Naruto ripped the headphones out of his ears and winced before he turned to the boy.

"_How can you listen to the music that loud? You'll go deaf before you're 30, I swear..."_

The boy lowered the volume a bit before Naruto went back to listening. After about 30 seconds he decided that ska was an interesting change from eastern music, which he found very boring. He nodded and handed the earphones back to the boy.

"_Not bad. Anyway, if you can't stay awake, then get the notes off one of your friends after class, but you should really get some rest. Also, can you see me after class? I want to find out so more about some of the music you're listening to."_

the boy nodded and tried his hardest to stay awake for the rest of the lesson. Once the lesson and question session finished, everyone filed out the door, while the boy who had been listening to the music approached him. Naruto smiled at the boy.

"_I think I can get into ska, and possibly some of the other types you were listening to. Could you recommended me some good bands of each type?"_

They discussed bands and western music in general for the next 15 minutes before the boy excused himself, claiming his next class was in a few minutes. Naruto waved the boy off. Smiling, Naruto left the building and headed for the palace.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**7 pm That Night, at the Officer's Mess Hall:**

Naruto had just got back from his trip to the research institute, smiling as he came back, which was unusual. When Naruto sat down with his tray of pizza, salad and a glass of orange juice, everyone noticed Naruto's strange behaviour. Yukiko raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong, Naruto-Kun?"

Naruto shook his head before smiling at her.

"No. The professor made a discovery saying he thinks he knows how to reverse engineer the armour for chakra instead of Gelel."

They smiled widely at this as they begun eating. When they were almost finished, they saw Temujin walking up to their table with a tray of food.

"_Evening, everyone. How was your day?"_

They all gave their 'good evening's and recounted their day to Temujin. Temujin smiled, glad that they had all had a good day. He managed to finish his food just after everyone finished theirs, and they noticed that Temujin had managed to keep them doing most of the talking, which allowed him to almost catch up to them. Once he had finished, he decided to break the news to them.

"_As much as it pains me to say this, Supreme Commander Hadio had decided to deploy myself, along with the western branch to the port where you arrived at, citing that there had been a disturbing increase in Militia assaults recently in the area. I don't have much of a choice, unfortunately. I have been asked to deploy in two weeks."_

They nodded. They'd become very attached to Temujin and Renke since they'd arrived here, and now not one, but both of them were leaving for the front. They really didn't like this, however, they had no say in the matter, so they just accepted it. Temujin smiled at them.

"_I'm sure Renke said she'd be very busy for the next two weeks, but she'd come and see you at least just before she left right?"_

They nodded which caused Temujin to straighten up and head for the door, looking over his shoulder.

"_I will be very busy too, but like Renke, I'll come and visit you at least just before I'm deployed."_

They brightened visibly as Temujin put his tray and utensils in their respective receptacles and walked out of the mess hall. Naruto and his group decided to also deposit their trays and utensils before they walked out of the mess hall to do a bit of study in the palace's personal library before retiring to bed. After several hours of book reading, they went to their own separate room and got ready for bed.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**4 Months Later:**

It had been 4 months since Hotaru's seal had started breaking, and today was her birthday September 3rd. After conferring with her tenant, the Shichibi grumbled that he didn't care when it happened and he just wanted to get it over with, so they had decided that after a small celebration with friends to do it at midday. The party had been a relatively quiet affair, with the palace chefs making a special birthday breakfast and cake, which they enjoyed immensely. At eleven am, they made their way to the research institute and down to the 3rd last level, where the professor was waiting for them. The professor had begged them to be present, and even guaranteed to watch from afar without conducting experiments, which they had eventually agreed to. Once they had entered the blast chamber they settled down to wait for the seal to break. Yukiko had prepared the kanji design on the floor surrounding Hotaru and stood over her, ready to begin the technique at any moment. Gaara was more worried than most about Hotaru. Everyone pretty much had a vague suspicion that Gaara had feelings for Hotaru that went deeper than friendship, but they kept quiet about it. As Naruto's watch beeped to indicate it had just turned midday, Hotaru gasped and her seal began flashing a brilliant blinding white, causing her to shudder in agony. Unconsciously, she grabbed out for the nearest thing, which happened to be Gaara's hand. Gaara was initially surprised at this, but he did not pull his hand away. It was then that the rush of Shichibi's chakra filled the chamber. Even the professor who couldn't sense chakra could feel the weight of the air around him become unnaturally heavy. After a while, the chakra died down and Yukiko began a long series of hand seals to activate the jutsu.

"Healing Type: Grand Healing Technique!"

The professor watched in amazement as the strange symbols around Hotaru flashed green and began working their way onto her stomach before making a spiral and disappearing into her naval. The demonic chakra surge quickly died down and Hotaru entered a peaceful sleep. After Yukiko had made sure that Hotaru was fine, she went to lift her and take her back to the palace, but Gaara beat her too it, making everyone raise an eyebrow or two. Gaara turned to Yukiko.

"You've done enough for her now. I'll carry her."

Yukiko nodded and stepped back, letting Gaara gather her up in his arms and begun walking towards the professor who was madly scribbling notes on a clipboard. Gaara walked up to him and waited for the professor to notice him. When he didn't, Gaara coughed, hoping to get attention. When the professor ignored him, Gaara shot the sand out and grabbed his pen arm just tight enough to stop him writing, which was when the professor finally noticed Gaara with Hotaru in his arms. He put the pen back in his coat pocket and punched in the code to open the door, which slowly swung open. Once it had opened far enough, they filed out and headed for the lift, vaguly noticing the professor scurrying around, frantically talking with the other scientists, although they didn't really care. Once they had taken the lift to the top level, they walked along the dark corridor, feet clanking along the metal floor. They reached the door and it opened for them. Naruto had found out that the door sensed movement from a certain distance away, and that's what triggered the door to open. They stepped out into the blinding sunlight and walked through the midday heat to the palace.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Just Over a Month Later:**

It was October 10th, meaning it was Naruto and Yukiko's 15th birthday, marking the halfway point of their stay in the east. Although Hotaru's birthday had been a somewhat quiet celebration, Naruto and Yukiko's wasn't exactly... small by any stretch of the imagination. Those close to Naruto and Yukiko had gone out to buy them presents several days before the day, and occasionally, they had answered shop owners questions as to 'who the lucky birthday person was', which spread like wildfire through the grapevine when they found out who it was. On the morning of October 10th, Naruto and Yukiko had slept in, enjoying the fact that they could afford to. At 10 am, they finally decided to get up and shower, dress and see their friends. When they opened the door to the lounge room, they stopped. Was that... A mountain made of presents? Naruto and Yukiko walked back out of the room, much to their friend's dismay. 10 seconds later, Naruto shouted through the door.

"Ok, I'm going to try coming back in. I expect to see a few presents, and not the mountain I was dreaming about."

Jiraiya snickered while Sora shook her head. Hotaru grinned at Gaara, knowing what was about to happen. Gaara had enlisted the help of a few of Naruto's younger friends for today, and he just hoped it went off without a hitch. Naruto slowly went back into the room, and saw that the mountain of presents were still there. He sighed and led Yukiko to the mountain of gift paper, before they turned to the others, tears in their eyes. He fell to his knees, begging, hopping that this was real and not some cruel twisted trick. They smiled at him and nodded, so Naruto ran and grabbed the nearest present. However, the mountain of presents was actually hollow, and in the centre was a device which Gaara had designed with the help of an engineer. As soon as Naruto removed the present, the mountain exploded in a wave of sand, which completely blew the presents away, revealing they were nothing but wrapping paper covered sand. Gaara had raised a wall infront of Jiraiya, Sora, Hotaru and himself to protect them from the barrage of sand, however, Naruto and Yukiko copped the full force of it. They sighed, knowing this was way too good to be true. Naruto turned to Gaara for an explanation.

"I was dared by your group to make the ultimate prank for your birthday. However, the number of presents you two really did get was about the size of that stack. Let's go."

Naruto stared in disbelief at Gaara. He'd made that prank? He was getting good. Slowly, they got up, and followed them into the library. When they opened the door, there as Gaara had said, a pile almost as big as the fake one. Yukiko leaned against Naruto for support, whispering in his ear.

"Please... Please tell me this is real, Naruto-Kun..."

Naruto took Yukiko over to the pile and gingerly removed one about half way up. Naruto at this point was to wrapped up with was in front of him to care about the laws of gravity at that point in time, and as soon as he removed it, the mountain came crashing down on him and Yukiko, showering them in presents. Naruto was like a little child, as he read the cards quickly and ripped off the wrapping of each present that was for him. The first present was from the boy in Naruto's class who had been listening to music. The present was an mp3 player, and when Naruto checked the player's contents, it was full of ska, techno, heavy metal and rock. Naruto loved it. Placing it in his pocket, he saw Yukiko opening her present. Once she opened it, she saw it was a book she had been admiring on western medical knowledge from a close friend among the medical staff at the hospital. They went through the rest of the presents, finding all different sorts of things. Naruto even had a present from the colonel who had enquired about his food preferences, and much to Naruto's shock, he'd gotten Naruto the blueprints for a deep fryer. It seemed that all of the things Naruto and Yukiko had wanted since they came to the west were here. They had even gotten a present from the professor, which turned out to be a 'come see me' note for both of them as well as Hotaru. The rest of the presents were great, things they'd never dreamed of getting. Even Temujin and Renke had opened a visual connection to wish them both a happy birthday. Jiraiya smiled and waved them out of the room.

"Come on you lot. We've got breakfast to go to. Let's go!"

They followed him out of the library, down the many corridors past guards, officers, staff, all of who wished them both a happy birthday. They by now were so unaware of their surroundings due to the completely dream like qualities of the day that they barely registered people saying things to them. Finally, Jiraiya threw open the mess hall doors, and Naruto and Yukiko shrunk back as everyone yelled-

"_Happy Birthday!"_

-In unison. Naruto and Yukiko couldn't take it anymore. Their minds were overloaded to the extent they both collapsed and fainted when they heard this, causing a few curious glances their way. One of the officers who had planned the birthday breakfast walked up and checked their vitals. He glanced up at Jiraiya in curiosity, with a brown eyebrow raised.

"_Jiraya? What on earth could cause them to faint like this? Sure, it was a surprise, but a reaction to this extent would mean they have rather strong negative emotions surrounding their past birthdays. What exactly happened to them in the past?"_

Jiraiya sighed, trying to figure out a way to give them an idea of what happened without ruining the mood. Finally he looked up.

"_I won't tell you the full scope of what happened, but their birthdays were also on the day of mourning for the ones the villagers lost while fighting the demons. Human mind being as it is, they wanted a scape goat to unload their frustration and anger onto. According to them, what better target then the young, defenceless containers for the demons themselves?"_

Most of the officers grasped the majority of the implications of this. They realised that their birthdays had been the worst days of their lives until recently. Knowing what humans could do, they could have faced mobs, assassination attempts, possibly even burning of their houses and belongings. Little did they know that every single one of the possibilities they had thought of as a possibility had happened, and that was only scratching the surface of the reality these children had faced. They propped them up against a wall and waited for them to regain conciousness. After a while, they began stirring and finally opened their eyes to see a lot of people leaning over them. They instictly obeyed their natural reactions, which were to flinch and curl up into a fetal position and prepare to recieve their beating. The officers had been trained in human psychology, and this only happened when they felt very ,very threatened, so they backed up, giving them space. Yukiko slowly opened her eyes, wondering why no one was yelling 'demon bitch' or beating her. They had more than a great opportunity, yet they didn't. She began to fully awaken, remembering where they were and what they had last seen, so she slowly uncovered herself, seeing everyone very concerned and worried. Naruto had begun to do the same thing, and slowly stood up, looking at the ground in a very sullen mood. He spoke barely above a whisper, making everyone lean in to hear it.

"_I'm... I'm sorry... We're just not... Used to such nice treatment on our birthdays... Normally, we would just stay in our houses, and try and barricade the doors and windows... To keep the worst of them out..."_

Everyone was horrified that their worst suspicions were in fact true. Naruto helped Yukiko up and they walked back to their group, as they were lead to the table that had been prepared. It was piled high with all sorts of food, such as pancakes, cereal, fruit, bacon and eggs, and lots and lots of hash browns. Naruto smiled at this and pushed Yukiko in and took the seat beside her. Everyone else took their seats at the table and looked at Naruto and Yukiko expectantly. They looked at each other and then shrugged. Naruto smiled a very toothy grin.

"_Go for it guys."_

They all started pulling pices of food onto their plates and passing trays of food around to others that requested it. The towering pile of food quickly diminished as the army of hungry mouths 'went for it', in Naruto's words. Suprisingly, the cooks seemed to know how much food to prepare, as once the entire table of food was cleared, they still had a little bit of room left, which was when they brought out the cake. Understandably, this cake was MASSIVE to say the least. It put all the other cakes they had ever seen combined to shame. It was a three tiered cake, with the base mesuring about a meter in diameter, while each tier above it was half the size of the one below. The bottom tier was made of rich dark chocolate cake with a thick chocolate icing that contained chocolate chips. It had what appeared to be a red fox with nine tails wraped around the edge of the bottom layer. The second layer seemed to be one made of a rich cheese cake with a caramel flavoured icing. A black two tailed cat wound it's way around the second tier. The top one was a type of cake they had never seen before, which they were later told was a pavlova. The design wrapping around it made Naruto and Yukiko raise an eyebrow. It had both the Kyubi and Nibi entwining their tails, with the body of Nibi resting on top of Kyubi, who didn't seem to disturbed about being used as a pillow. Both Kyubi and Nibi were also interested in this.

"_**Kami, what I wouldn't give to be in that position again..."**_

Naruto blushed, and turned to see Yukiko blushing as well. This caused them both to blush harder, until Hotaru started sniggering.

"_Kyubi and Nibi reliving old memories, are they?"_

If possible, they both blushed harder, which caused everyone to laugh light heartedly. The cook handed Naruto and Yukiko a box of matches each, letting them each light seven candles. Once they had lit the candels, they made their wish, before blowing them out in one breath. Everyone clapped, as the waiter handed them a knife. Naruto put his hand on the handle, then Yukiko laid her hand over Naruto's. They both cut the cake, before pulling the knife out. Luckily for them, it was very dirty. They dropped the knife and latched onto each other for a kiss. Everyone looked amused at this before Gaara interrupted.

"_Will you two hurry up and finish? I'm hungry."_

Everyone laughed again, causing Naruto and Yukiko to break the kiss slowly before turning back to the cake a cutting everyonr a piece. By the time everyone had sampled a piece from most of the tiers, a marshal looked at his watch and started, causing everyone to look at him. He looked up chuckling.

"_I was supposed to report for duty about 7 minutes ago. I appologise, but I must take my leave. Happy birthday to both of you!"_

The man got up and ran to his post. Everyone looked at their watches to see that most of them had also better be moving. Slowly, the numbers dwindled until it was just Naruto's group and the officer who had planned the whole thing. The officer stood up and bowed to them.

"_I hope you two enjoy your birthday. Please excuse me, as I have duties to attend to."_

They thanked him as he strode out of the mess hall. Naruto turned back his group and noticed thoughtful expressions on their faces. Yukiko snapped her fingers, catching everyone's attention.

"Didn't the professor say he wanted to see Naruto-Kun and myself?"

The others nodded, as Yukiko turned back to Naruto who saw what she was thinking and nodded. They both got up, and they motioned Hotaru to follow them. They smiled at the rest of them, waved and walked towards the industrial sector of Antioch. As they reached the research institute, Naruto had his fingerprint and his cornea scanned, which let him and the others in. Their boots clanked along the metal corridor. Once they reached the lift, Naruto pressed the button to go down, and the lift doors opened with a _ding_. They stepped inside, and Naruto pressed the button for the 3rd last floor and the doors closed. They felt the now familiar feeling of temporarily weightlessness as the lights blinked to indicate their level. Naruto sighed, cuasing the others to look at him.

"You'd think they could at least play some decent music in here..."

Yukiko and Hotaru chuckled, and as if on queue, the music changed into a much more dark and brooding number, which Naruto had figured out was some sort of grunge. He looked thoughtful for a moment, before he looked up at the camera/speaker smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"_Much better! Thanks!"_

Once they reached their destination, they felt their weight increase before returning to normal. The elevator let out another _ding_, and the doors opened. Naruto led Yukiko and Hotaru to the professor's office before knocking on the door. The professor threw open the door and welcomed them, ushering them inside. Once they were inside, they saw three pieces of armour on his desk. He motioned them to pick up their pieces, which had their names carved into them. Naruto picked up the gauntlet. It seemed to be more of a forearm protector than a gauntlet, but Naruto tried it on anyway. The gauntlet was a blue-black colour that reminded both Yukiko and Hotaru of a severely rotted corpse, and they thanked themselves that it didn't smell like one. The metal bar that was probably meant to be a hand grip of sorts was no where within his hand's reach, however, when Naruto thought about grabbing it, the gauntlet's lower part, which consisted of a bunch of movable parts brought the handle straight up into Naruto's palm in a quick snap action. Naruto got the impression that the gauntlet was almost... Alive... Naruto decided to pump a little bit of chakra into it to see what happened. To his suprise, the guantlet acted exactly like Kisame's Samehada would. It litterally ate the chakra, before moving and making strange gurggling noises. Yup, this thing was alive alright. Just then, the professor threw a pen at Naruto, who instinctivly put his newly gauntleted arm up to block it. However, what no one expected was that when the pen was about to strike it, the gauntlet mutated hideously, before forming what was esentially a shield. The pen hit the shield and bounced off, falling to the floor. The professor beemed.

"_It's a complete success!"_

They look dumbfounded, so the professor took the hint and explained to them.

"_When the last easterner came here, he stole a box of the stuff that is made out of. Back then, it was only a prototype materieal, far inferior to the material which that is made out of. I wonder what happened to it..."_

Hotaru laughed.

"_It's now in the hands of a man by the name of Hosugake Kisame, who has had it fashioned into a sword called Samehada. It sucks up chakra and will only obey him."_

The professor looked hopefully at them.

"_And what does this Kisame do with the sword?"_

Naruto snarled.

"_Kill people like us."_

The professor shook his head in disgust. He then looked up at Naruto, with a mixture of anger and hopefulness.

"_Kisame hasn't realised the true potential of that sword. However, like his sword, your gauntlet will only respond to you and those who you let use it. To anyone else, it will crush their forearm with a thought from you."_

Naruto nodded and then saw Hotaru reach for the greaves that had been made for her. They were made out of a simmilar coloured material to Naruto, however, they did not have the same semi-living aura coming off them. They had a very intricate network of pitch black lines that eminated from a single circle in the centre of each greave (if you need a visualization, think of the black sphere in the anime when Naruto and Sasuke did their final Chidori/Rasengan.). She slipped them on, and felt a small, but constant amount of chakra being drawn into the greaves. The circle in the centre began to slowly turn red and flicker as a fire would. Slowly, the fire like light spread out to fill every one of the little passageways, and when they were all filled, Hotaru felt the chakra drain stop. The professor started sweating bullets, and became nervous.

"_I would appreciate it if you didn't try them out in here..."_

Hotaru smirked and nodded. Finally, Yukiko picked up what appeared to be a pair of sleaves to cover the arms from the middle of the bicep to the middle of the forearm, with an obsidian coloured pies of metal shaped into an elbow protector. As she put them on, she felt her skin raise in goosebumps and the hair on the back of her neck stick on end. She saw her chakra seeping into the delicate looking links, which reminded her of chain mail. The professor picked up another pen and threw it at her, but when it was about 75 or so centimeters infront of her, a perfect sphere of electricity sparkled around her, litterally disintergrating the pen. The others involuntarily shrank back, considering how close they were to the barrier. The professor just chuckled.

"_The plasma ball will only activate when things with harmful intentions against the wearer touch it. It's a very complicated explination, but the subconcious basically can tell the difference between an aggressive approach and a friendly one, even if the approach is so well masked that the concious can't. That is what the plasma ball relies on."_

They nodded and Naruto approached Yukiko for a hug from behind. Although Yukiko didn't conciously recognise this, subconciously she did. Naruto cringed as he past through the 75 centremetre mark and kept going. The cringe was what alerted Yukiko's concious mind to Naruto's presence and she sighed as he slid he hands around her waist. He rubbed his cheek against the back of her head, eliciting a noise that sounded strangely like a purr. Hotaru raised an eyebrow at her in interest.

"_You're taking on more and more of Nibi's characteristics every day, Yukiko."_

Yukiko gave her a look of mock anger, before she turned back to the professor, a very toothy grin plastered on her face.

"_Thank you so much for these presents, they're absolutely great."_

The professor smiled and waved his hand in a dismissive guesture.

"_It's quite alright. Although I'm sorry about not getting the greaves to you on your birthday, Hotaru. They weren't quite ready by that stage, and also, you had much more... Important matters to attend to."_

Hotaru nodded.

"_Thanks, I don't mind though. I really want to test them out."_

The professor nodded and turned to Naruto for his opinion. Naruto looked at him and smirked.

"_They're perfect. I can't wait to see Sasuke's face when we get back home with these."_

The professor nodded, and then went over with them all of the known capeabilities of each piece of armour, which for the gauntlet at least, were quite extensive. After about half an hour, the professor got up and smiled wearily at them.

"_I'm glad you enjoy your presents. However, I have been summmoned to the floor below to give a report on a particular Gelel experiment, so I must leave you to get back to the surface by yourself. Enjoy the rest of your birthdays."_

They shook his hand, which they could tell hurt him slightly from the almost non existant wince he gave. They walked to the lift, and got in, pleased that the change in music was still present. The lift doors closed and they waited for the lift to reach the top. Once the doors opened, they walked through the dimly lit corridor and out into the sun light.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** Do you know this chapter took me longer to write than any other chapter? That's only including the time I actually spent at the computer writing it. Anyways, frankly I'm getting bored with them in the west, so I'm going to rush through the rest of it in hopefully one or two chapters. As soon as the last chapter with their wild west adventures are out of the way, I'm going to put the series on hold and start my Naruto x Female Kyubi story, as stated in the first lot of AN. Oh, BTW, I'm going to the anime convention in Sydney Australia on the 30th of september, and if I feel up to it, the 1st of October as well. You'll find me dressed as Uchiha Itachi. Hope to catch you all there! Until next time, my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	32. The Final Year

**A/N:** Yo! Sorry I'm late, a black cat crossed my path, and-

Readers: YOU'VE ALREADY USED THAT ONE!

I have? Oh, my appologies. Well, let's get onto the vote/comments/reviews:

**Vote:**

**Keep Writing Tail of Two Bijus:** 6/20

**Start Naruto x Female Kyubi Story (Living Behind a Mask):** 4/20

**Both:** 3/20

Comments/Reviews:

**Ookami Mononoke:** Lol! Yay, another person who believes me!

**Solar Guardian:** Thanks for the concern. Now that I'm on holidays with practically no assignments or anything, seems I have a lot of free time and not much to do with it... Which is good for you guys :P

**Kyubi-Sama:** /Bow. Well, Gaara's obviously not going to return to Konoha, he's got to see if Temari and Kankuro have actually been doing their work. If not, it's off the the prisons for some good old torture. If they have, he;ll let them live... For now... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Anyways, they will all return to the east after Naruto and Yukiko's next birthday. To tell you the truth, there are two ways I can see the story going. Naruto and co go to war, meaning I have to drag the story out further, or they just do what they were brought here to do, ie, diplomatic relations. I'm hoping I can wrap up a whole year into one chapter, even if I have to do a juggernaught chapter. Oh btw, if this is the final chapter, prepare for a bombshell at the end. One person knows what it is, but she's been sworn to secrecy. If she breaks it, I'll have to hurt her... Or something... Anyways...

**WintersMourning:** Ok, vote counted. Legend of Uzumaki Naruto... I used to be into WoW, so this should be fun. I had a look at the chapter names and saw Darkmoon Faire. Oh god, that'll be absolutely hilarious. For once, Naruto finds someone older than him who's actually shorter than him, namely, the gnome who runs it... LOL.

**Naruto's-Shandow:** meh, we all make mistakes. Catch you round!

**Skuld's Sentaro 6:** We'll see. I'm a few centemetres off Itachi's height and have long hair. I look forward to seeing you there.

**White Alchemist Taya:** Thank you.

**Solar Guadian:** Yeah, I'm trying to finish it off this chapter, however, I may do a very short and sweet chapter following this one, the perfect conclusion to the story. As for the rating and theme, probably M again for a lot of sexual innuendo and sexual topics. The genre will be Romance/Angst. Catch you round.

**Hikaru1:** Yo! Ok vote counted. As for the time skips, I've been timing them perfectly. Kept track of the time to within half a week. Trust me, I'm not going to let a flaw that size exist in my story. Still have time to read after that? Wow, go you, seriously.

**Conceptor:** Yes! Another 'GOD' chapter! Lol. Seriously, how could they kill her? According to the map and what the guy who looks kind of like kisame said, Naruto's the only one left. HE MUST AVENGE HIS BROTHERS AND SISTER!

**DarkKyuubi:** How exactly did you 'download' Itachi on Sims 2? Pray, do tell. :P

**SABBOTH:** Thanks for the comments. As for you story, I left a review after reading it. It's vague, but then again, so is the first chapter of your story. I need to see what happens next before I can make any comments on what's good and not so good, as not enough of the plot has developed yet.

**Robby Cartwright:** I've decided to not involve them in the war, as it would take up too many chapters. Frankly, I want to get this story out of the way, hopefully with this chapter.

**God in a box:** Ah, I see. I'm not sure if it's possible, but the idea I have is that susano-wo might actually be a shinjutsu, hence why Itachi hasn't used it yet. If it really is an ability of the Mangekyo Sharingan, I'd say Itachi will pull it out when he's about to die. That's just my idea of what the most logical reason he hasn't used it yet was. The other thing I can think up is that like Kakashi, Sasuke might activate his own unique Sharingan, giving him the susano-wo instead of the other two abilities. Apart from that, I have no idea.

Everyone else who voted: Votes counted.

I'm hoping I can wrap this story up with this chapter. If not, I'll definitely do it with the next one, which will be short and sweet.

Rokudaime quote for the chapter: **ITACHI:** And so, like, I had to, like, totally kill them all, because they were just so icky! Ugh! Gag me with a spoon!

Onto the story! As always, I hope this gives you some semblance of pleasure to read.

Legend:

_'...Thoughts...'_

"...Japanese..."

"_...English..."_

"...TWO PEOPLE CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

_**'...Biju Thoughts...'**_

"**...Biju Talking..."**

**&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&**

A Tail of Two Bijus:

Chapter 25:

End of the Mission, And a New Beginning:

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Nearly a Year Later:**

Both Sora's and Gaara's birthdays came and went and they had both gotten a message from the professor, which turned out to be the invitation to recive their armour pieces. It was approaching Naruto and Yukiko's birthday now. The university students were having their mid term holidays. Haido had apparently been paving the ground so that Naruto and his group could meet in the council and discuss the terms for which they were originally brought here. Haido appeared personally before them one day during a 'research lesson', as they had dubbed it a long time ago. They were in the palace library when the door opened and Haido walked in. They stood up and smiled at him th moment he walked in the door. Haido stood in front of them and held out a piece of paper to Naruto before explaining what his visit was for.

"_As I'm sure you are aware of, I have been preparing the council to talk with you. This is the agenda of what will be discussed during the meetings that I have set up. There will be three meetings. One to discuss each of the three points. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. The council are unafraid to oppose you or question you, so please be prepared."_

They nodded, clearly haviing no questions at this point in time. Haido left them to continue with their study, however, they had other plans now. Namely, discussing what they were going to talk about during the council sessions. They chatted well into the night, finally calling it a night at about 3 am.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**Nex Morning, 11am ish:**

Haido had come to collect Naruto and his group after they had finished breakfast, which was significantly later than usual, due to their late night last night. Haido led them through many corridors, until they got to a large set of double doors, which was flanked by two royal guards. They both saluted Haido and opened the door for him and the others. Once the doors were fully open, Naruto and co were fully awear of the masses of eyes that were glaring at them with something that could only be described as pure distaste. Everyone took a quick trip down memory lane to their own prospective childhoods. They shook it off quickly however, and focused themselves for the arduous task ahead. Haido led them into the room that was roughly semi circular, with the benches following the rooms shape, leading down the levels to where 6 chairs were located near the middle, on one side of the bench that went up the middle of the room. Haido indicated them to the seats and took a seat at the head of the centre table. Haido decleared the discussion open and people began throwing questions at the eaterners, hoping to catch them in their word traps, however, they dodged every single one of them or got their friends out of ones that they were about to get caught in. Through out the questioning, they were awear of a large amount of hatred directed at them from a specific corner of the room on numerous occasions. Sure everyone was glaring at them, but it was a cool, calculated glance, with no intent to kill and only the faintest touch of anger in the most heated questioners. Eventually they narrowed it down to one particular man, and they looked at each other before Naruto stood up and looked at the man.

"_Is there a reason you're directing such hatred and killing intent at us?"_

Everyone stopped their questioning and looked at the man, who they could clearly see was not one of the usual members of the council. The man sighed and snapped his fingers. This was obviously some kind of signal to his team. As soon as the sound echoed through out the room, several other 'council' members discarded their robes to reveal members of the Militia. Before the real council members could call the guards, the Militia charged and clamped their arms around the necks of a few very important people, such as Haido and other council members at the top of the political pecking order. The man who had given the signal stood up and chuckled. Naruto looked at his face, and his eyes opened wide in disbelif.

"_You! You're..."_

The man raised his eyebrow in mock interest.

"_I'm?"_

Naruto smirked and pointed at him.

"_You're that guy who I knocked sensless along with 100 other guys on the mobile command centre. How the hell did you get free? Looking for another beating?"_

The man snickered, which turned into a full blown laugh. He looked at Naruto with a very sadistic smile that woul but Orochimaru to shame.

"_No, that wasn't me. That was my younger brother. I have to commend you for taking out such a large group by yourself, however, the outcome will be different this time. Very different."_

Naruto growled, and took a step forward. However, the leader raised his hand in a gesture that told him to stop.

"_One wrong move, and we'll start killing them. We know you're fast, but do you think you can stop all of us before we kill at least one of them?"_

Naruto stopped his advance and stepped back, trying deperately to form a plan that would allow him to save everyone. He needed to stall for more time, so he enguaged in conversation.

"_I highly doubt you'd pull something like this without a motive. What do you want?"_

The man formed half a smile before he turned to each of his men, and then back to Naruto.

"_Simple. Relinquish control of Antioch, or they die."_

Council members gasped. Abondon Antioch? They wouldn't do that... Would they? Naruto had gone through all the ideas he could think of, leaving him with one last one. He didn't like it, but he could see no other way. He turned to his friends to see what they thought. The look in their eyes told them they had nothing, so Naruto switched back to Japanese, making it look like a curse.

"Kawarimi..."

They stared at him in disbelief. Replace themselves with the officials? Naruto turned to them and smiled sadly.

"Got a better idea?"

They sighed, getting out of their stances. The leader of the group smiled wickedly.

"_So, you've agreed?"_

Naruto looked up, with a single hand seal formed a regretful smiled playing across his face.

"_Nope."_

The officals closed their eyes as the Militia group leader snarled and snapped his fingers. The other militia members plunged their swords towards the other officials, but a cloud of smoke surrounded each of the hostages. They kept their strikes going, and the vibro blades met with flesh that was not their own. They took this as a good sign, and kept the strike going, until the tips of the swords came out of the smoke. They waited for the smoke to clear. When it did, they were surprised to see not a group of dead officials, but the easterners had taken their places. They looked around wildly to see the officials standing where they had been near the center of the room staring in disbelief at the sudden change of places. The leader of the militia stared at them in disbelief. The council had been grilling them for almost 2 hours and at the drop of a hat, these easterners had exchanged their lives for their own? Unbeliveable. Naruto looked up slowly at the leader, who could see the disbelief in his eyes. He smiled weakly at him.

"_They may have been treating us harshly, but as Chunin... No, as ninja, we are required to defend those who can't protect themselves with everything we have. Those who do not follow orders are scum, however, those who do not protect their friends and important people are lower than that. This is what we are taught, our nindo."_

The Militia looked at their leader fopr orders, and he nodded at them. The Militia soldiers drew their swords out of the easterners, and watch as they slumped forward. Even Gaara's sand did not have enough time to defend him. The leader of the militia chuckled which turned into a full blown manical laugh.

"_You may have been able to switch them with yourselves, but you can't even stand! How are you going to defend the rest of them? It seems that the ninja of the east aren't so great after all! Why don't you die with your pathetic friends and make our job easier! You!"_

He pointed to the man hovering over Yukiko.

"_Kill the girl. Let's see how he reacts when we start killing his friends!"_

Just as the man was about to plunge his sword into Yukiko he stopped and froze. The Militia group leader stared at him.

"_What are you doing! Kill her!"_

Everyone in the room froze when they heard Naruto's voice. A few may have even wet their pants, however, that was the furthest thing from Naruto's mind at the moment.

"**_Don't. You. DARE. Lay a finger on her. She's too good to be touched by scum like you."_**

The man looked at Naruto. His featured had become far more feral than they were before, and his voice was terrifying to say the least. Using the last bit of his resolve, he smiled manically at the boy.

"_Oh? Is she your girlfriend?"_

"**_No."_**

Naruto's friends looked at him in horror. Had he just dumped her? Naruto smiled a very toothy grin at the man.

"**_To me, she's something far more than a girlfriend. The word 'girlfriend' doesn't do her justice. You lay a finger on her, and I'll make sure you're paid back ten thousand fold. I dare you. If you're a man, try it."_**

His friend's smiled at him. He was still the number one suprising ninja they had all grown to love. The Militia leader rushed forward, having his pride as a man insulted and tried to slice the girl in half. However, he was met there by Naruto, who had punched the man so hard in the gut that a sickening snapping sound of organs and bone under extreme stress could be heard. Finally, Naruto put a large amount of chakra into his hand and gave a final push, which sent the man spiraling through the air to smash into the far wall trialing a large amount of blood which he had coughed up, causing a huge crater. Naruto picked out a cluster of shuriken and threw them at him.

"**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."**

The shuriken multiplied before lodging themselves into the area around the man, with a lot of them lodging into the mans vital areas, keeping him from sliding down the wall. The man looked up as the last of his life faded away. He managed to utter a final question.

"_Who... Are... You?"_

Naruto stared coldly at the man.

"**_Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage of Konoha. Tell Shinigami, or Satan as you know him, I said hi and I might have use for him in the future."_**

The man looked at the boy in horror as the last bit of his life faded from him and he slumped his head and stopped breathing. Naruto's blood red aura slowly ebbed away and he stumbled over to Yukiko, slumping to his knees beside her.

"Yukiko-Chan... Are you ok?"

She looked at him and nodded.

"Naruto-Kun... Did you really mean that?"

Naruto smiled as he put his forehead against hers and whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

"Yes. Every bit of it."

She sobbed and put her arms around him, squeezing him.

"I love you, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto kissed her tenderly before looking into her eyes.

"I love you too."

They both fell to the floor, unconcious. Everyone was staring at them in pure disbelief. Hiado was the first to snap out of it, and slammed a hand onto a nearby alarm, causing the two guards stationed outside the door to burst in, blades drawn. Haido turned to them.

"_We've delt with the problem, but we have severely wounded in here! Get the medical teams here and have the army scout the entire city for Militia. NOW!"_

The both saluted and ran out the door in different directions. Shortly after, a group of men and women in dress that appareared very simmilar to medical nins back in the east ran into the room and surveyed the damage. The one who was obviously in charge split the teams up to take care of the ninjas. They put them onto stretchers and rushed them out of the room to the palace infirmary. Once things had settled down, Haido turned to the still shocked council members and sighed.

"_I suppose we should put the negotiations on hold until they recover. Session has now closed."_

Haido walked out of the room followed by the other council members. Haido went directly to the infirmary, followed by Jiraiya to see how they were doing. When they got their, they saw that they were still concious, although barely. Naruto was weakly telling the doctors and nurses that he just needed a night's rest and he'd be fine. Jiraiya turned to them and smiled.

"_Trust me, it's better if you didn't waste medical treatment on them. They'll heal naturally overnight. I wouldn't have belived it myself, but I've seen one of them come back with a hole through his chest which healed in under a minute."_

Every doctor and nurse stared at him in disbelief. That was physically impossible for humans to do, even with medical treatment. Naruto glad for some respite felt his wound, and saw that the last traces of it were just sealing. He smiled at them.

"_Good as new."_

They stared in something that bordered on horror to see that the wound in Naruto's chest had indeed closed completely, not even leaving a scar. Naruto smiled as he slumped back on the bed, unconcious. Jiraiya smiled at them.

"_That's the only downside. After healing a major wound like that, they tend to have to sleep to recover their strength. They'll be ready for discharge tomorrow morning."_

After seeing Naruto's wound close before their eyes, they were severely doubting what their minds were trianed to think of recovery times for a wound like that. The doctors did some final tests to see that they were sleeping peacefully, with no danger of entering a coma. They begrudgingly stepped back and left the patients with Haido and Jiraiya, who looked over them while they slept, disturbed only by regular reports from the search parties Haido had sent out.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**The Next Morning:**

Naruto awoke groggily to see sunlight streaming in from the window at the back of the room. He turned to the other side to see Jiraiya snoring and a tendril of drool running down his chin. Naruto wondered what Jiraiya was dreaming about before the corner of Jiraiya's lips turned upwards in a smile and a trickle of blood came down from his nose. Naruto growled and jumped out of bed, his grogginess forgotten, and punched Jiraiya in the head, making the perverted hermit yelp, causing the others to awaken in time to see Jiraiya fall of his seat crashing into the floor. This commotion caused the guard outside the door to burst in. Unknown to him, Jiraiya's head happened to be in the way of the door, and Jiraiya copped the door full in the face, eliciting a moan of agony from the man. The others however, found this extremly funny. Naruto fell to the floor holding his sides as he howled in laughter. The guard wondered what was so funny, and where the moan had come from, so he looked down to see a very beaten Jiraiya laying on the floor in front of him. The man sweat dropped and started forming an incoherent appology. Naruto managed to recover enough to answer for Jiraiya.

"_Don't worry, he was having one of his perverted dreams, it serves him right."_

The man nodded sheepishly and muttered sorry again to Jiraiya before closing the door. Jiraiya managed to sit up and started sulking.

"Did you have to do that, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned evilly at him.

"You deserve it. I don't know how anyone manages to put up with you..."

They all chuckled at this, causing Jiraiya to sulk further. At this point, Haido and a doctor came in, to see what the comotion was about. Jiraiya, having not learned his lesson from before, copped another whack from the door, although this one was much less extreme, due to the fact that that the two on the other side of the door were not in such a rush. However, Jiraiya still got another whack, causing a fresh round of laughter at the white haired man's expense. After the doctor had appologised to Jiraiya, he and Haido stepped through the door. After the doctor had checked them all to find they were indeed fit to leave, he smiled at them. They took this as a good sign and they jumped out of bed. They were luckily still in their own clothes, so they walked towards Haido to see what he had to say. He smiled at the with a look that showed a lot of pride.

"_The council after yesterday's display have no doubts left that you are nothing like the last one. We would like to resume the talks as soon as possible, however, the earliest we can do it is tomorrow. Would that suit you?"_

They nodded and smiled. Haido smiled warmly back at them.

"_It's settled then. Please meet me at the mess hall at the same time tomorrw. Until then, enjoy yourselves."_

Haido walked out the door and towards his office. Naruto looked at his watch and saw that it was only a week until his and Yukiko's birthday. He knew exactly what he was going to get her. He smiled to himself and turned to the others.

"I'm going shopping. I'll see you guys in a while."

Yukiko latched onto Naruto's arm, clearly indicating she wanted to come as well. Naruto shook his head.

"Yukiko-Chan, this is for your birthday present. Do you really want to have the suprise spoilt?"

Yukiko pouted at him, but let go of his arm. Naruto kissed her and then ran off, calling over his shoulder.

"Trust me, you'll love it!"

Yukiko sighed and decided she might as well go shopping for Naruto's birthday present. She followed him outside and towards the trade district. Both of them searched the district for the type of shop they were looking for. Both of them found them fairly quickly, and upon entering began discussing exactly what they needed from the owners. Little did they know they were getting almost exactly the same thing.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**October 10th, 10pm:**

The week had passed since they had been discharged from the infirmary. Their group noticed that both Naruto and Yukiko got more and more tense as the day approached. They were glad for the council sessions, as it gave them a chance to forget about the upcoming day. The negotiations proceeded with barely a hitch. Setting up agreements for trade were the easiest, while the agreement for settling westerners in the east proved the most difficult, however, they were able to sort it out eventually in a way that left everyone satisfied with the results. On the morning of their final day there, Naruto and Yukiko were so nervous that the it rolled off them in waves. Naruto and Yukiko had gotten through the presents and birthday lunch, and Naruto had insisted that he be allowed the rest of the day to spend with Yukiko. He had taken her to a top of the line restraunt for dinner followed by a walk though the city's trade district where they had gotten an ice cream each. Finally they wound up in the main park, wher Naruto had been so nervous he was actually sweating. Naruto took Yukiko to a seat that looked out over the park from a hill. The almost full moon shone down on them, providing them with a strong light. The moonlight shone onto the lake that ran through the park, making the water sparkle with a dazzling light. A soft breeze blew through the trees_'OMG! MY 200,000th WORD!'_, slightly rustling Yukiko and Naruto's hair. Naruto was still wondering how to give her the gift, and so he figited nervously. Yukiko wasn't fairing much better. Naruto felt his inner demon snicker.

_**'Chickening out, kit?'**_

_'Hell no! I just... Don't know how to ask her...'_

The fox gave an exashperated sigh, and came up with an idea.

_**'Ask her if she knows what the legal age of consent is in the east.'**_

Naruto wondered what the damn fox was on about, before the fox finished.

_**'Once you have, tell her the legal age of concent is in the west. Once you have, say you waited for an extra year so that taking the relationship to the next stage would not be illegal once you got back.'**_

Naruto had to admit. It was far better than any of the ideas he had come up with so far. He turned to Yukiko gathering his resolve, forcing his voice to work.

"Yukiko-Chan? What is the legal age of concent in the east?"

Yukiko was not expecting this question by any stretch of the imagination. However she answered.

"16..."

Naruto smiled, and plunged forward. There was no turning back now.

"And what is it in the west?"

Yukiko was totally confused by now, but she played along.

"15..."

Naruto sighed. This was the moment he had been waiting for for almost 4 years. He forced a smile at her before continuing on.

"I wanted to wait an extra year, so that taking our relationship to the next stage wouldn't be considered illegal once we got back home..."

Yukiko saw immediately where this was going. She forced herself to hold back her tears as Naruto got off the seat and kneeled infront of her, pulling a small box out of his shirt pocket and flipping it open to reveal a ring. The ring was made out of pure platinum. However, at the top of the ring was a large emerald, surrounded by a ring of much smaller topazes. Yukiko's breath caught in her throat, hoping this was true. She looked up at Naruto. He looked at her before whispering the words so only she could hear, despite the fact that no one was around.

"Yukiko-Chan... Will you marry me?"

Yukiko couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst out into tears, making Naruto wonder what he had done wrong. However, Yukiko flung herself at him an kissed him passionately on the lips before pulling back and staring into those endlessly deep cerulean eyes, whispering just as loud as Naruto had.

"Naruto-Kun... You're the only man I would ever even entertain the thought of marrying... I've waited for this day for so long... Yes, Naruto-Kun, I will marry you."

Naruto slipped the ring onto her right ring finger, and she pulled back just enough to reach her hand into her pocket, pulling out another small box. She opened it, to reveal a ring as well. Obviously, she had been planning to propose if he hadn't. The ring was made of pure gold, but on top was a giant ruby surrounded by a small ring of sapphires. It seems they had been thinking exactly the same thing. Yukiko slipped the ring onto Naruto's right ring finger, before they kissed again. It felt like an eternity. Eventually, they pulled apart and sat, just staring at the sky in contented peace. To them, they wanted to make this moment last as long as possible. Eventually, Naruto's watch beeped, indicating it was 11pm. He sighed and got up, offering his hand to Yukiko, who gladly took it. He smiled at her before claiming another kiss. Once he pulled back he motioned with his head back towards the city.

"Well, Mrs. Uzumaki, shall we retire to bed?"

Yukiko's heart lifted at the title he had given her, and nodded. They walked hand in hand back to the palace, where they were greeted by their friends. Sora was the first to notice the rings on their fingers, and squealed before latching onto Yukiko. This caused the others to raise an eyebrow in both amuzement and wonder. Sora smiled at them.

"So you finally proposed? Congratulations, I'm so happy for you!"

Their eyes had widened in complete and utter shock. Hotaru was the first to recover, and hugged Yukiko and gave Naruto a kiss on the cheek.

"Congratulations you two. You make the perfect couple."

They both blushed slightly at this. Gaara came up and gave Yukiko a hug, which was getting to be a much more familiar gesture. He stood in front of Naruto and shook his head in disbelief, before extending his hand. Naruto took it and shook it.

"First, you beat me in battle, then in an eating contest, and now you beat me to getting married. You are trully one of a kind, Naruto. Congratulations to both of you."

Jiraiya stopped leaning against the wall he was next to and smiled.

"This is a big step Naruto. I must say, you've done well resisting my pervertedness rubbing off on you. To tell you the truth, you're everything I wish I was. Congratulations to both of you."

They went inside to their rooms, too physically and emotionally drained from today's events to begin packing up. They could do that tomorrow before they left. Naruto and Yukiko smiled and went to sleep, content with the fact that they were now assured of spending the rest of their lives together.

fin

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** OH YEAH BABY! Part 1 is offically COMPLETE! Sorry if it's a bit short, but this was as long as I wanted to make it, as I wanted the last chapter to be short and sweet. For all of you fans out there who wanted me to do both of the stories, you're in luck. I'm going to be writing both the second part to a tail of two bijus and living behind a mask at the same time. I sincerely hope you all had as much pleasure reading this as I did writing it. (I was on the verge of tears of joy when I typed out those four magical words. I think you know which ones I mean.) Anyways, look out for my new stories coming to a friendly neighbourhood near you! Later, my beloved avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.


	33. A Quick Note to My Readers

**A/N:** Well guys, this isn't an actual chapter or a bio, more of a request from a fan, namely Korrd for an advertisment for lack of a better word, for my next two fics which I will be working on simultaniously. The name for the totally new fic (the NaruXFemKyu fic) will be called living behind a mask, and I'm currently up to writing page 4 of it. The next part of the Biju series, which will probably be called return of the bijus, or something similar, I'm going to start writing soon (I mean soon by my standards, ie tomorrrow morning by the latest). If you want to know when I upload the first chapter of each, check my profile, as that'll be your first tell tale sign. Also, I may modify this chapter to say I've uploaded them as well. Well, I've loved having each and every one of you as my readers, and I really do hope you stay for my next fics. Here's the status on both:

**Hiding Behind a Mask Status:** First Chapter up is up!

**Return of the Bijus:** First Chapter is up!

Catch you round everyone!

Specula.

P.S: I'm going to answer all of the reviews for this story in the next part until I upload the first part. After that, this story will be left alone to accumulate dust, or to be put on a pedestal and worshipped... Or something... Anyways, laterz!

BTW, people seem to be sayin that Kyubi defeated Nibi in the official story. Well, if you guys actually bothered looking at the publish date, my story was created before Nibi appeared in the manga, therefore as far as I'm concerned, I don't give a damn. Don't like it, don't comment.


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